music tech magazine 2014-06

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Issue 135June2014

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MAGAZINE June 2014 | 3

WelcomeMT

Many, many years ago I had a go at building myown piece of studio gear. It was for anelectronics course and the item in questionwas a MIDI interface for a Sinclair ZX Spectrum(see I told you it was many years ago). And itworked! Well, long enough to be judged a ‘pass’

by my course tutor, before it blew up, taking the computerwith it. It cost me a ZX Spectrum, but I got a qualificationout of it…

Luckily, my job has allowed me to get to know people who know a lot moreabout putting DIY gear together than I do. And, even more luckily, there are plentyof ready-to-assemble electronic kits out there for us all to try. (Even more luckilystill, there aren’t many ZX Spectrums left to try them out with.)

Huw is our expert and this month, on p13, he has written an overview of whatyou can do DIY-wise in your studio:anything from assembling a simple lead tobuilding a synth. Surprisingly it is all easy enough and you could save a fortune andend up with some great gear. We’ll be looking at several DIY projects over thecoming months that’ll cover some very different, but essential, studio items. Ireckon even I could some of them a go. So lock up your classic computers, I’mgoing in…

Andy Jones Senior EditorEmail [email protected] your tweets @AndyJonesMT (although don’t expect much tweeting from me)

Read my blogs at www.musictech.net

DON’T MISSOUR GREATSUBS OFFER!Subscribe and save35% and get thedigital edition free –see page 62 forfull details.

Expert Panel

CubaseTim HallasTim’s a music technology consultant andeducation expert. As Cubase Editor e will bebringing you a range of echnique features or hepopular AW over the coming months.

Mixing/Mastering/LogicMark CousinsMark specialises in sound design and cinematicpro uctions. He has recorded with orchestrasacross Europe and is heavily involved insoundtrack composit on.

Recording & Guitar TechHuw PriceA recording engi eer since 1987, Huw has workedwith David Bowie, My Bloody Valentine, PrimalScream, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Heidi Berry,Fad Gadget and countless others.

Sco ing/OrchestralKeith GemmellKeith specialises in areas where traditionalmusic-making meets music technology, ncludingorchestral and jazz sam le l b aries, acousticvirtual instruments and notation software.

Ableton Live & DJ’ingLiam O’MullaneLiam has worked as a D&B scratch DJ as well asreleasing dubstep, D&B and hardcore tracks. Hispassio is to master the production styles of thelatest genres using Live.

Reason & MobileHol in Jo esAs well as teaching music technology, producinga d wri ing sou dtracks, ol i is an expert oneverything A ple, mobile or com uter-re ated, aswell as being an accomplished ey oard player.

Electronic MusicAlex HolmesAlex has been a computer musician for 15 years,having a keen passion for beats, bass and a lforms of e ectronic music. e’s cu re tly nvolvedin three d f erent dance music projects.

Studio HardwareJohn PickfordJohn is a studio engineer with over 25 years ofexpe ience. He is a keen sound recording h storianand has a passion for valve-driven ana og eequipment and classic record ng techn q es.

Pro ToolsMike HillieMike spent five years at Metropolis Studios,wor ing alongside some of the best-known ixa d mastering engineers in the world. He is nowbuildi g his own studio in south London.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE!Head to our constantly updated websitefor the latest news, reviews and 10 yea s’worth of quality content – musictech.net

CheckoutouBeginnersGuideatmusictech.net

Careers EditorRob BoffardRob Boffard is a sound designer with abackground in TV and radio work. He is a Reasonevangelist, and when not writing for Music Tech hereleases hip-hop music under the name Rob One.

Digital/Composition Andy PriceWith a masters in songwriting and a vast interestin music history and recording techniques, Andywor s daily on Musi ech.net as well as regula lycon ributing to the magazine.


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13DIYTECH!

Feature

40 21 DIY Kit review

MTContentsIssue 135 June 2014

KorgMS20 kitThe first of our DIY projects is a greatone – Korg’s classic synth!

HOWTORECORDPT2The gear and the skills you need to recordlead vocals…

Buil your own studio gear for a fraction of the cost!From cables to pre amps:do it yourself…

4 | June 2014 MAGAZINE

MTContents


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29

DAW Tutorials

BECOMEAPOWERUSERPART10

MT Issue 135 Full listings…

006 | ADVANCEWhat we’ve been doing this month,and it’s a trip to the greatest studioever built: Abbey Road.

013 | COVER – DIY!Build your own studio gear: theguide and your first project PLUS:Korg’s MS20 built and reviewed

LANDMARK RECORDINGS029 | Björk Homogenic: thebackground story of one of theice queen’s greatest releases

THE PROFESS ONALS034 | Neil Davidge The insidetrack from the pros. This month:from Massive Attack to Halo 4…

TECHNIQUE040 | How to record: Part 2The best way to record lead vocals

044 | NEW SERIES ContemporaryProduction Techniques part 1:Side-chain compression

Become a power user – Part 10048 | In Apple Logic Pro

054 | In Ableton Live

058 | In Steinberg Cubase

090| Subscribe and get free digitaleditions, plus save 35%

REVIEWS064 | Elektron Analog KeysAnalogue performance synth

068 | Nord Lead A1 is this Nord’sbest analogue-sounding synth?

071 | UA Apollo Twin interface

075 | Sontronics Aria mic

077 | EZ drummer 2 drum library

081 | Nektar Impact 49 keyboard

083 | Softu e Console 1 channelstrip and hardware controller

087 | A&H Qu-24 mixer

091 | Symphobia Orchestrator

093| Mini Reviews

098 | On your MT DVD

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Contents MT


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40s, 50s and 60s, including the Altec RS124 compressor,the Fairchild 660 limiter and the RS-56S UTC EQ which

were all out to view. Also out were several pianos usedthroughout the studio’s history and still widely usedto this day because of their unique acoustic sound.

A rock and roll beginningStudio Two first acquired its reputation for producing

rock and roll when Cliff Richard and the Shadowsrecorded Move It in 1958, the UK’s very first home-grown

rock and roll hit. Since then it has become knownpredominantly as the ‘rock studio’ and over the decades,artists such as Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Elton John, Oasis andAdele have recorded there. Studio One is the largestpurpose-built recording studio in the world and is generallyconsidered ‘the orchestral studio’. It is now used mainly torecord some of the biggest film scores, which is now theprimary source of income for the studio. Film franchises suchas Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings all hadtheir soundtracks recorded at Abbey Road, as did last year’sOscar winning smash Gravity.

MTAdvanceRound-ups Analysis Industry insight

Thismonth,wewereinvitedalongtothefirstofanewseriesoftalksexploringalegendarystudio’shistoryandlegacy.Andy Price hasmore…

What first struck me when walking into AbbeyRoad’s Studio Two was the smell – a littlereminiscent of an old school gymnasium,there was something very lived in and well

worn about the decor. It remains (purposefully) prettymuch unchanged from how it appears in thecountless black and white photographs dating backthe 60s. However things have changed somewhatfrom those days in terms of the music recordinggear, as the impressive AMS Neve console thatdominates the control room illustrates…

I was there to attend the first of a six-day series oftalks, called ‘The Sound Of Abbey Road’ featuring theformer Abbey Road engineer Ken Scott (who we talked to atlength last month).The talk was hosted by Brian Kehew andKevin Ryan, authors of the encyclopedic Recording TheBeatles and explored the history of recording techniques and

the evolution of the gear used at Abbey Road.It also gave us a great insight into the early history of the

studio. Initially the converted Georgian townhouse buildingwas opened as EMI Studios back in 1931 by the GramophoneCompany where it played host to a wide variety of classicaland big band set ups. They recorded mainly in Studio One,the largest of the three studios, purpose-built on the spacewhere the original garden was located.

Kevin and Brian used some of the authentic gear todemonstrate how sounds were recorded in these fledgling,pre-electronic days. Giant acoustic horns were used tocapture sound which would then be pressed directly on to awax cutter. Artists would have to gather around the horns toreach optimum sound levels which often required orchestrasto squeeze together to be heard on the final record!

The talks then discussed the advent of electronictechnology, the prevalence of BTR tape machines at AbbeyRoad and the use of a vast range early equipment from the

THEDAYWEWENTTOABBEY

FORMOREOFTHE

LATESTNEWSCHECKOUT

MUSICTECH.NET

But,ofcourse,wemustaddressthemop-toppedelephantintheroom…

Abbey Road, Studio Two: Perhapsthe most famous studio in theworld played host to ‘The SoundOf Abbey Road’.

Abbey Road Studiosfrom the outside,originally a Georgiantownhouse and now aTARDIS-like maze ofmusical history.

MTAdvance

6 | June 2014 MAGAZINEWorldMags.netWorldMags.net

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Studio Three is the smallest studio and was historicallyused for smaller ensembles and bands, it is now primarilyused for smaller projects, band tracking and was responsiblefor some of the very first 5.1 surround-sound mixes.

But, of course, we must address the mop-toppedelephant in the room. Abbey Road will eternally beassociated with those four unsung heroes from the north ofEngland. Back in 1963 a rather cocky, but undeniablytalented, quartet named The Beatles (look them up!)recorded their very first LP in one afternoon with formerGoon producer George Martin.They went on to record theirentire decade-spanning output at EMI Studios, music thatwould shape the hearts and minds of a generation andre-define not just music but popular culture as a whole. Theirmyriad out-of-the-box approaches to production are coveredin several lengthy tomes and Brian, Kevin and Ken broughtsome of these incredibly-important sessions to life with acreative use of archive sound clips and musical analysis.

The studio ‘instrument’Put simply,The Beatles were the first band to think of thestudio as an instrument and utilised a huge variety ofapproaches when creating songs. Although it’s a cliché tomention their 1967 opus, the production of Sgt Pepperreflects this approach. Using a variety of delicately spliced-uptape loops when creating Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite, forinstance, was painstaking work, all motivated by a desire to

create fusions of sound unheard of in pop.The great Beatle-engineer Ken Scott remembered some

of these approaches when he chatted to us last issue. Herecounted a particular anecdote during the production of TheWhite Album which illustrates The Beatles’ unconventionalapproach.“I made a joke to John Lennon one day about doingsome recording in this tiny little closet room by the side ofthe control room. When I mentioned it he just looked over,stared at it and didn’t say anything.Then the next day hecame in and said:‘Right we’re going to record a new number,it’s called Yer Blues and we’re going to do it in there’, pointingto the small room. The track was recorded in there, all theband members squashed in, completely live with noseparation between anything. You can imagine how muchspill there was with them all just in this tiny room!”

The success of The Beatles final LP Abbey Road resultedin the studio officially changing its name to Abbey RoadStudios, to reflect the almost mythical status the studio nowhad in the hearts, minds and ears of a generation.

This was a fantastic day out and the talk was engaging,educational and entertaining. It was truly spine-tingling towander around the mythical studio where so muchimportant music was created.MT

The day was a real joyfor retro-gear heads.Well worn kit like thisvintage EMI mixer wasall on display.

ABBEY ROAD GEAROn display and occasionally demonstrated by Brian, Kevin and Ken were a varietyof classic instruments and tech from Abbey Road’s long history...

Acoustic Horn & Microphones BTR Tape Machine - Circa 1964

Hammond RT-3 Organ (as used by The Beatles) Steinway Grand Piano (ditto)

REDD.17 desk EMI Digital Mixer

AdvanceMT

MAGAZINE June 2014 | 7WorldMags.netWorldMags.net

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Yourchancetowinnearlytwogrand’sworthofqualityhardwareaswehaveaThermionicCultureThePhoenixHG15high-gainvalvecompressorupforgrabsforoneluckyreader…

WIN!ATHERMIONICCULTURETHEPHOENIXHG15…WORTH£1,892!

It’s fair to say that we are huge fans of ThermionicCulture at MusicTech. All of the company’s productshave scored well over the years with most reviewersloathe to send them back.Take The Phoenix HG15, for

example… (You might just be able to after reading this!)This valve compressor/mic pre was reviewed last month

in the magazine. It’s elegantly designed to amplify signalsfrom most mics (with phantom power provided forcondensers) and has both Presence and Air dials to addwhat MusicTech’s hardware reviewer described as ‘verypowerful and musical tone enhancement’. There’s abass-cut switch to reduce the proximity effect of close-mic’ing and a side-chain bass cut prevents the compressorfrom over-responding to frequencies below 100Hz. Add EQto the mix and The Phoenix HG15 is, as Thermionic’s VicKeary says, ‘as close to a fully-featured channel strip as heis likely to produce.’

In our review John Pickford stated of the variousfeatures:“The compressor itself is a delight to set up anduse, having five stages of Threshold control and six TimeConstant settings, so offering a variety of compressionsettings that can be selected swiftly. This control is similarto that found on the classic Fairchild 660 (and its stereocounterpart, the 670), surely the most highly revered of allvintage compressors.”

“The Phoenix HG15 was also pressed into service at themixing stage, when we tried it on kick drum and bass guitarbefore strapping it across a frantically-strummed acousticguitar track. Here, the compressor really made its mark,helping the part to sit nicely in the mix level-wise, but stillcut through by making judicious use of the Air andPresence boosts.”

“Thermionic Culture’s new Phoenix HG15 has awonderful, vibey character that will never fail to inject itsmojo into your productions. Once again, Vic and his team

have come up with a product that sounds absolutelygorgeous while being pleasantly user-friendly – you reallycan’t go wrong with this. It is one of those units that soundsgood on just about anything, imparting its own soniccharms in a musical and thoroughly-satisfying way.”

Pickford concluded:“It is a brilliant performer that isincredibly easy to use. Its ability to accept a microphoneinput makes it a natural choice for tracking vocals and allmanner of instruments. When used gently, the sound isdetailed and well-rounded, while driving the unit harder

produces a great punchy sound with plenty of bite. Thisoutstanding, versatile compressor is sure to become afuture classic.”

He then went on to award it MusicTech’s highestpossible accolade of 10/10 and the MT Excellence Award.

In order to win The Phoenix HG15, simply head on over tothe review at www.musictech.net, read it, click thecompetition link which will take you to the ThermionicCulture website, answer the simple question there andthat’s it! MT

RULES1. No-one from Anthem Publishing or Thermionic Culture is allowed toenter. 2. Only one entrant per person. 3. No monetary equivalent isoffered as an alternative. 4.The judge’s decision is final. 5.The closingdate is 19th June 2014. 6. Entrants by way of the Thermionic.comwebsite (via the musictech. et review)

TheHG15 isabrilliantperformeranditissuretobecomeafutureclassic

AdvanceMT


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DIYSTUDIOMTFeature DIY Studio

Kitting out your recording setup with some choice bits of hardware doesn’tnecessarily cos as much as you might think.Huw Price does it h s way...

Maybe it was your experiences of using classic gear plug-ins that piquedyour interest in the real thing and prompted you to think abo tintegrating some of it into your own recording setup. A factor that oftenprevents his dream from becoming reality, however, is cost, but whilemany of the plug-in effects ou there may not be cheap, the costs pale

into insignificance when youinvestigate the prices ofvintage modules.

The quality of affordableaudio equipment has neverbeen better, but as always, thereally high-end stuff remainshighly priced. So what can youdo if your gear budget can’t keep pace with your increasingly discerning sonic tastes?

One answer is to modi y and uild your own gear. Hardcore sound engineers havealways been as handy with a soldering iron as they are with mixing desks, and it’spossible that more DIY audio gear is being made now than ever before.

And it’s not confined to equalisers and compressors, either: DIY audio enthusiastsare just as likely to be building microphone preamps, modifying microphones andconstructing their own monitor speakers. There’s even a thriving community of

It’spossiblethatmoreDIYaudiogear isbeingmadenowthaneverbefore


DIY Studio FeatureMT


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MTFeature DIY Studio

synthesizer builders out there. Even so, the DIY studioscene remains underground and receives little or nocoverage in mainstream audio publications. Try visitingthe sites in our ‘Useful Links’ box and you’ll findin-depth discussions on building, troubleshooting,fine-tuning and modifying all types of equipment. You’llalso find people selling components, parts, pre-paintedand punched rackmount faceplates, printed circuitboards and even full-blown kits.

Getting startedThere’s no better way to hone your soldering skills thanto make your own cables. If you need only one, youmight consider buying a decent-quality pre-mademicrophone cable. However, the costs willquickly mount up f you need

you feel that way, other owners have too, andyou can often pick up some very useful tipsand new ideas.

You may discover that sound quality canbe enhanced by upgrading plug-in components like

op-amp chips or valves – both of which are barely morechallenging than changing a light bulb. You may learnthat the signal caps can be improved and individualcomponent values changed. As long as you are aware ofthe safety issues, you can test your soldering skills byswapping them out.

Before long the DIY bug will probably bite you.Progressing from modifications and upgrades tobuilding your own equipment is the logical next step.Easy projects might include building your ownheadphone splitter, passive DI box or guitar/bass

Before you start building microphone preamps, try modding one.The Shure M67 is a discrete four-channel mic mixer withtransformer-balanced inputs that can be converted to four individualoutputs. These are inexpensive and easy to find, and they have anunmistakably chewy vintage tone.

sufficient cables to mic a drum kit or awhole band. Fortunately, you can buy long

lengths of microphone cable along with male andfemale XLR connectors. Within a few hours you canmake up a bunch of microphone cables and saveyourself a lot of money in the process. While you’re at it,why not order up some TRS jack plugs and knock up aload of patch cables, too, or perhaps some of those

XLR-to-jack cables that we all need from time to time?Before long you’ll have sizeable a collection of cablesthat can cope with any eventuality.

Upgrading is another area in which novice DIY-erscan enjoy big rewards for little outlay. Most audio gear isbuilt to a budget, so manufacturers aren’t always able touse the finest components. If you have a piece ofequipment that you like but also feel could be improved,go online and do some research. The chances are that if

UpgradingisanotherareainwhichnoviceDIY-erscanenjoybigrewards

Making a passive DI box isanother simple and cheap

project. This one has an in utlink socket along with phase and

ground-lift switching.

Re-amping electric guitars andbass is becoming increasinglypopular. You’ll need a re-ampingbox to do it properly andcommercially produced unitscan be expensive. Building yourown is cheap and easy to do.


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DIY Studio FeatureMT

re-amping interface. These are all low-cost items, but,more importantly, they’re low-risk because mainsvoltages are not involved.

As you become more experienced you may decideyou’re ready to tackle something more challenging. Thisis the point at which you may consider building yourown microphone preamps, equalisers and compressors.

There are various ways to go about this. The moststraightforward route is to buy a full-blown kit thatcomes with all the circuit boards and componentsincluded and the metalwork already done for you. Mostimportantly, the kit should include detailed instructionsand at the end of the process you should have a newpiece of gear that looks as good as it sounds. Although akit can save you time and effort, it’s not the mostcost-effective solution.

Partial kits generally include some pre-fabricatedparts, such as the printed circuit board (PCB) and thecomponents. However, you may have to source someyourself, such as the enclosure. You may also berequired to punch holes in the enclosure for XLR sockets,controls and so forth. A partial kit may therefore workout slightly cheaper but it will require extra work andpossibly a bit of problem-solving.

From the ground upHardcore DIY-ers may consider building their own gearfrom scratch. This means starting with a circuitdiagram then figuring out the best possible layout for thecomponents and wiring. You can even find PCB art workonline and making small PCBs is well within the scopeof the amateur.

It’s certainly challenging technically, but scratchbuilds can work out a lot cheaper than the complete kitsand you’ll have the freedom to construct your device inthe way you think best. Locating the various parts andcomponents can often take as much time as the builditself, and if you need to source from more than one

supplier, additional postage costs will be incurred. Solet’s have a look at the options that are available forvarious types of project.

Microphone preampsIf you have built up a decent collection of plug-ins, youmay already have the tools to sculpt, process and controlthe sound once it’s ‘inside the box’. But what aboutensuring that the quality of the sounds you are puttingonto your hard disc are of a comparable quality?

Many budding constructors start their DIY audioodyssey by building a high-quality microphone preamp.The criteria for deciding on the type of preamp youwant to build are exactly the same as if you werebuying one off the shelf. For example, do you need high

You’llhavethefreedomtoconstructyourdeviceinthe

wayyouthinkbest

Adrian Hare, from ThreecirclesRecording Studio (www.threecircles.co.uk), is turningthis box into an 1176 compressorclone. You can follow theprogress on his blog.

Hamptone dual-channel micpreamp kits are available invalve and solid-state versions. Ifyou’re planning to build ahigh-end mic amp from scratch,this could be a good way to start.


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MTFeature DIY Studio

gain with low noise, switchable bass roll-off,attenuation pads? If you do, choose a kit or a project thatfits the bill.

Although it may be tempting to dive in at the deep endby building a valve preamp, you should be aware of thedangers. Proper valve circuits run at high voltages andthere is a risk of injury (or worse) if you do not fullyunderstand how to work safely. Even experienced techssuffer shocks from time to time.

Besides which, many of the classic preamps werediscrete, solid-state designs that used transistors. Thevoltages (and risks) are lower, the components arecheaper and they can sound fantastic. You might decidethat you can use your mic-amp budget more effectivelyby building eight discrete solid-state mic preamps ratherthan one or two valve ones.

EqualisersTraditional engineering wisdom states that you shouldalways endeavor to get the sound right before you hit therecord button. There’s only so much you can achieve bymoving microphones, and most of us prefer to have adecent equaliser at our disposal.

Pultec equalisers are legendary for their soundquality and they are very popular as DIY projects. Theyare quite simple to build, parts are readily available andthere’s plenty of information online. Gyraf Audio has avery well laid-out project on its website, along with a linkto a vendor that supplies the necessary PCBs.

Itmightbetemptingtodiveinatthedeependbutyoushouldbeawareofthedangers

Manyof theclassicdeskequalisersarealsoreadilyavailable inkit form.Wehavefoundkitsuppliers forCalrecPQ1549,Neve1073,API,HeliosandHarrisonequaliserclones.Sowould-beequaliser-buildersarespoiled forchoice.

The make-up gain boards for atwo-channel Pultec equaliserclone. The PCBs came fromGustav at PCB Grinder (www.pcbgrinder.com), which alsosupplies kits of components tocomplete your projects.


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Neumann stopped making the valve U47 decades ago, but it’s still the Neumann most engineers want.


Fairchilds are the most highly regarded and highly priced of

all the classic compressors. Even in kit form they are far

from cheap and you would really need some skills to

build one. This Fairchild clone was built from a PCB supplied

by Drip Electronics.

DIY Studio Feature MT

As with preamps, think about what you need. Pultec-type EQs have wonderful sonic qualities but aren’t ideally suited to precise notch filtering when you need control over problem frequencies. Equalisers with three or more parametric bands and ‘Q’ settings are more powerful, but they may not sound as sweet or natural.

CompressorsA decent compressor can be a vital stage in any recording chain and can lift a very good sound into the realm of the sublime. Many of the compressor kits

require builders to follow a setup and alignment procedure before they will work properly. If you buy a kit, full details will be provided in the instructions and you will need to be able to follow those instructions and work methodically.

You may find that specialist equipment, such as an oscilloscope, will be required. If you’re serious about DIY audio, you’ll probably end up buying one anyway. Alternatively, you may be able to find a friendly local tech who can perform the alignment procedure for you.

Condenser mics can often be improved by correcting errors on the factory circuit board

Mic & Mod also sells a kit for DIY mic

builders to make an AKG C12 clone with a

dedicated PSU.

MicrophonesAlthough some daring enthusiasts do build microphones from scratch – including the body and head basket – most are content to upgrade microphones they already own with superior components.

The easiest mics to work on are arguably ribbons and many choose to install a more expensive output transformer. Condenser microphones can often be dramatically improved by correcting errors on the factory circuit board, installing better-sounding signal capacitors, and reconfiguring the preamp/impedance-converting circuit. Serious modders may install new capsules and output transformers, too.

If you’re working on a valve microphone, you may achieve improvements by upgrading the valve or changing it to a type that’s a better match for the preamp. We covered this in Issue 118 (January, 2013) in a feature on the Alctron HST-11A.

It’s also very easy to get hold of component kits to make Neumann U87, U67, U47FET and M49 clone circuit boards. These can be retrofitted to a variety of readily available Chinese-made budget condensers. Mic & Mod sells upgrade kits for various mics, including a kit for turning an Alctron HST-11A into an AKG C12 clone. Also check out companies such as Microphone Parts and Classic Vintage Microphone PCB Kits.

Kits are even available for those wishing to build exact replicas of classic large-capsule Neumann and AKG valve mics. Since these models are no longer available from the original manufacturers, it’s arguably fair game. Check out IOAudio, Equinox Systems, Beezneez, Flea Microphones, Mic & Mod, Wagner Microphones and Tab-Funkenwerk.


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MTPro Advice Before you build...

REQUIRED SKILL SETYou will need to be able to identifycomponents, orientateelectrolytic capacitors and followa circuit diagram. You will alsoneed to know how to solder andhow to diagnose faults. Mostimportantly of all, you mustappreciate and understand thephysical dangers involved inworking with electronics. If youhave never tackled something likethis before, we’d suggest honingyour skills with some cheaper andeasier projects.

SAFETY WARNINGAs always, we should caution youthat working with valveelectronics presents thepossibility of receiving apotentially fatal electric shock.Always ensure that the powersupply is switched off wheneveryou are working on the circuitboard or touching components. Ifyou are testing for voltagereadings or faults, the power willneed to be switched on, so ensureyou keep one hand firmly placedin your pocket while probing.

FURTHER READINGhttp://gyraf.dkwww.groupdiy.comwww.diyrecordingequipment.com

www.diyaudio.comwww.tangible-technology.com


MTFeature DIY St dio

together? Check out Doepfer’srange of synth modules.

IPL Acoustics sells severaltransmission-line

speaker kits. Here’s oneunder construction.

Monitor speakersThe DIY speaker scene is more of an offshoot from themurky world of old-school hi-fi enthusiasts. Even so,there are some remarkably good-sounding speaker kitsout there, providing you’re not after active monitors withonboard equalisation adjustment and DSP features.

The choice is vast, stretching from small nearfields tolarge transmission-line designs. You can also choosebetween ported and infinite-baffle cabinets, and if youhave any qualms about using hi-fi speakers for mixing,it’s worth remembering that most records were mixed onhi-fi speakers until fairly recently – and many still are.

Of all the DIY projects detailed here, DIY speaker kitsoffer some of the best bang for your buck. Many featuredrive units found in very expensive commercial speakersand crossover components tend to be high-quality too.The electronics are generally very straightforward andsince the tricky woodwork is done for you, assembling apair of monitors is likely to take hours rather than weeks.

As for sorting out amplification, since activemonitors became the industry standard it has becomeeasier to find high-quality power amps at veryaffordable prices. This correspondent has assembledseveral IPL Acoustics kits, and you can also check outDIY Sound Group and Dayton Audio.

Most speaker kits arrive with the cabinets inflat-pack form and you will need to glue them together.Others arrive with the cabinet pre-built, or you can buythe drive units and crossover components along withinstructions for building the cabinets yourself.

SynthesizersIf DIY preamps andmicrophones seem a bitleft-field, DIY synthesizer builders must bealmost ‘steam punk’. Few of us will be able to afford anoriginal Moog Modular, EMS, Oberheim or even anSH-101 these days, so it’s unsurprising that someintrepid musicians have extended their interest inelectronic music to the actual electronics.

The range of projects outthere is pretty amazing,spanning everything fromcheap little Theremin projectsthat you can buy on eBay tofull-on clones of classicsynths such as the ARP 2600.Some of the modular designsare worth consideringbecause they are Lunchbox-compatible and you can buildand add modules as fundsallow. It’s worth visiting theDoepfer website – if only tocheck out the photo gallery of

Do it my wayThere are both pros and cons to DIY audio. For instance,you would be well advised to refrain from working onany piece of gear that is still covered by warranty. Assoon as you take a screwdriver to the chassis yourwarranty will be null and void. Building stuff can be amessy and time-consuming undertaking and noteverything will work straight away.

It can be pretty soul-destroying when you haveinvested a lot of time and money in a project and the onlysound you can get out of it is a prodigious hum. Even so,fault-finding is all part of it and we’ll be discussingtrouble-shooting strategies as we go along.

So here’s where the fun begins. We’ll be running DIYfeature articles from time to time featuring kits, scratchbuild projects and typical upgrades. If you have anysuggestions for the areas you’d like us to cover, just writein and tell us – we’ll see what we can cook up. In themeantime, turn to p20 for project number 1!MT


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UK distribution by Source • www.sourcedistribution.co.uk/genelec • T: 020 8962 5080

www.genelec.com

Producers and recording musicians everywhere rely on Genelec 8000 Series monitors forthe unadulterated truth about their mixes. But what happens when you’re away from thestudio?

Now you can pop a pair of the new 8010s in your bag and you’ll always have access toconsistently accurate, industry-standard Genelec 8000 Series monitoring, wherever youfind yourself working.

Visit the Genelec family of monitors and see the new baby at www.genelec.com

facebook.com/sourcedistribution twitter.com/sourcedist

New babyThe Genelec family expands with the new 8010


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MAlruSYMPHONICVOLUME 2

THE NEW GOLD STANDARD IN STRINGSJUST GOT DEEPER...

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Originally made between 1978and 1983, the Korg MS-20analogue synth has becomea cult classic. Like many

heritage companies Korg has beenbesieged with requests for a reissueand both the software version and thedownsized MS-20 Mini have beenwarm y received.

Now, at last, there’s a fully-blownMS-20 reissue. Korg as gone to greatengths to replicate t e original

circuitry and, where originalcomponents were no longer available,replacements were selected afterex ens ve test ng.

Early filters were irtier and moreaggressive t an the later l ers and thereissue c ntai s both types.There’stradi iona IDI and USB c nnectivitytoo b t ere s a catch, because theMS-20 reissue comes as a kit hat youhave to asse le yo rse f. H w hardca it e? et’s find ou

Step 1 - UnpackingThe MS20 is quite unlike the model caror aeroplane kits many of us willremember from our childhoods. Thebox it ships in is sizeable and weighs20Kg. Once opened up we see thateverything is carefully packaged up inneat containers and, like a box ofc ocola es, there is more than onelayer – we’re starting to get just a lit lebit excited already!

Take your time whe you’reremoving all the parts from t e oxbecause it’s easy to overlook smallerite s. We’d a so a v se ga nsthrowing any of he packagi g away

u til the it is c m letely assembled– st in case yo miss s me hi g!

The top ayer conta ns he MS2 ’skeyboard, patchbay, k obs a d power

WelcometothefirstofourDIYstudiotutorials eviews.Andwehave ebonafideKorgMS-20 eissuesomanysynthenthusiastshavebeenwaitng o .Huw Pr cecons cts…

KeyFeaturesA full-size MS-20 that you canassembleBoth early andlate filters areprovidedOverseen by theengineers of theoriginalExternal signalprocessor (ESP)ExtremelyflexiblepatchingMIDI IN and USBAC adaptorEvery detailreplicated

DetailsPrice £1295.99Contact Korg UKWebwww.korguk.com

supply. Other packe s contain copiousquantities of nuts, was ers, feet andrubber grommets. We also nd thepitch-wheel module alo g with boardsfor MIDI connections, patchbay andthe filters.

Two differences between t eoriginal and the reissue areimmediately apparent. First y thereissue’s su plied mains cablec nects to a 12v DC external powersupp y. Secondly t e circuit boards

ave sur ace- o ted co onen s. Agrea deal of mo ern audio gear ismade t is way, but this s one areatha may concern pur s s.

he bottom laye con a ns all thearts for building the MS20’s

e c osure and eigh patch ca les. The

In-depth review Hands-on guide Experience required: novice

KORGMS-20 Kit

MTDIY Studio: MS-20

Innovation

£Value

Lay the parts out carefully before you beginassembling the kit and check everything is there.

Excellence

Korg MS-20 Kit ReviewsMT

MAGAZINE | June 2014 | 21WorldMags.netWorldMags.net

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control panel looks particularlyimpressive but all the punched holesremind me that a fair amount of nuttightening will be required before thissynth is ready to fire up.

As well as containing assemblyinstructions, the kit also includes anowners manual and a bookletcontaining Sample Settings. Accordingto the instructions the only toolsrequired are a cross-head screwdriverand a box end wrench.

Step 2 – Getting organisedWe’d suggest reading the instructionsin their entirety before getting started.Fortunately this isn’t too onerousbecause there are only 14 pages andthey are dominated by large and cleardiagrams. In all it took about tenminutes to read them.

The first thing you should do isverify all the parts are present andcorrect. Page two of the instructionscontains a parts list with pictures ofthe components and quantities whereappropriate. If at this stage youdiscover that some parts are missing,

contact Korg immediately.

Step 3 – mod wheelattachment and shielding thesides of the keyboardLike the originals the reissue versionof the MS20 has plastic side panels. Toproperly shield the electronics, metalshield plates are stuck to the sidepanels with double sided tape. Thewheel assembly slots into place on theleft side panel and two screws secure

it in position. All the supplied screwsare identical in size, which makes thisaspect of the build simpler than youraverage Ikea chest of drawers.

Step 4 – attaching the feet andthe keyboardThe base panel is flipped upside downand the four rubber feet are attached.Although there are several holes inthis panel, only four of them are wideenough to accommodate the footshafts. To lock them in place, simplypush down on the centre section witha screwdriver.

Fitting the keyboard requires a bitmore ingenuity. The sloping section ofthe base is the front and it has two

tags that line up with cut outs in thekeyboard frame. Line up the tags withthe cut outs, then slide the keyboardassembly to the right and it will beheld loosely in place.

Lift up the bass end of thekeyboard and turn it around to exposethe base plate. Locate one of the eightscrew holes that secure the keyboard,insert a screw and tighten it most ofthe way up. This should hold thekeyboard assembly in position yet stillprovide a little wiggle room while youinsert the remaining screws. Only oncethey are all started in their correctholes should you complete tighteningthem up.

Step 5 – rear jack boardThe ‘rear jack board’ contains the MIDI,USB and power sockets, with twoscrews securing it to the rear, rightcorner of the base plate. The keyboardhas multiple cables terminating in twomulti-pin connectors. Simply bend thecable retainers away from thekeyboard, twist the cables togetherand connect them to thecorresponding sockets on the rearjack board.

All the multi-pin connectors arecolour coded. The sockets on all theboards are labelled correspondingly toensure that the correct connector isinserted and that it’s the right wayaround. The connectors are quite tightso they do need a firm push beforethey’ll seat fully. If possible, place acouple of fingers underneath thecircuit board to provide some supportas you push in the connectors.

This board may be the decidingfactor for choosing an MS20 reissueover a vintage example. The originalspresented problems for sequencersbecause they didn’t have MIDIconnectivity and they didn’t even runon conventional CV/Gate protocols.

Step 6 – side panelsThis bit is where things start to get

We’dsuggestreadingtheinstructionsbutthisisn’ttooonerousasthereareonly14pages,soitonlytakes10minutes

The mod wheelattaches to the leftside panel.

Here’s the rear jackboard in positionwith the keyboardcables connected

With the side panelson,the kit startslooking like a synth.

Make certain that the LEDs push through theholes in the front panel.

MTReviews Korg MS-20 Kit


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exciting because the kit suddenlybegins to take on the appearance of asynthesiser. The side panels of the unithave locating pins that align withholes in the base, so they’re easy toposition and two screws fix each onein place.

Step 7 – attaching the big VRboardThe front panel is a thing of beautyand we’d advise you to handle itcarefully to avoid inflicting any

damage. Ensure that your worksurface is free from debris beforestarting this procedure and begin byinserting all ten rubber grommets.

Brackets are attached to the endsof the panel before the large ‘VR’ boardis put in place. When positioning theVR board, you must ensure that theLED indicators line up with the holes inthe front panel and push through.Once in position, finger tighten a nuton the control pots from each corner

to hold the VR board in position thenfinger tighten all the other nuts.

Korg thoughtfully fixed a soft layerof plastic onto the underside of thespanner that’s provided. This isintended to prevent the control panelfrom getting scratched. You maychoose to tighten the nuts with asocket instead, but work carefully anddon’t rush. Also remember that thenuts don’t need to be ultra tight.

Step 8 - attaching the small VR

board and the power switchThe procedure for attaching the smallVR board is the same as the big VRboard (described above) but there areno LEDs to worry about this time.Care must be taken when installingthe power switch/volume controlbecause the locating tag must pushthrough the slot in the front panel toprevent it from spinning around. Boththese items are fixed with differentsized nuts.

Step 9 – attaching the paneljack boardBefore fitting this board a clear plasticspacer sheet must be placed over thejack sockets. The instructions aresuperb throughout the complete build,but this is the one area where thingsare a little vague because it’s easy tomiss the bit that tells you to place nutsover each and every jack socket tohold the spacer in position.

If you get this bit wrong, though,you’ll know it, as you’ll be wonderingwhy you have 30 or so nuts left over!

Once again, ensure that the LEDspush through their holes in the frontpanel and place a washer and nut ateach corner to hold the board inposition. Adding all the remainingwashers and nuts takes a while, andit’s easy to miss one when they’rebeing tightened up.

The cables from the power switchfeed through a hole in the circuit boardand four multi-pin connections aremade from the switch unit and theVR boards.

Step 10 – finishing touchesThe fully-loaded control panel dropsdown onto the top of the unit, but youmust take care that the thin shields onthe side panels don’t get bent ordamaged. Once it’s in position, fourside screws secure the panel and allthe remaining multi-pin connectionsare made.

The MS-20 Kit instructions offergood detail on how to twist the cablestogether. The cable clips at the rearof the kit’s keyboard unit are re-used

Thesoundqualityisphenomenal.Thecalibreofthesynthyouaregettingforjustoveragrand is justincredible…

EXPERTOPINION–HUWGETSANEMMY-AWARDWINNERINTOJUDGEITWe didn’t want to appear biased because we had built thething,so we handed over our completed MS-20 to Emmyaward-winning media composer and analogue synthaficionado Dave Gale.Here’s what he had to say.

“It has to be said that the architecture is a bit weird,especially things like having the Hold rather than Attackcontrol at the top of the envelope filter section.Manyfeatures will only work if you physically plug them in onthe patchbay,including the mod wheel and themomentary switch.

“The patchbay is hard to fathom and it’s cluttered,but Ilove the section along the bottom of the patchbay thatallows you to do things to external sounds and process clocksignals then feed them elsewhere.It is fussy about clocksand if the signal is a bit hot it doesn’t chase it terribly well.

“I love that it’s a proper recreation of the MS-20,butbecause of that it doesn’t work on a one volt per octave CVand gate.It works on a Hertz per volt principle so there’s littleinterfaceable gear for it.So the fact that it has MIDI in is justsuperb because you don’t have to mess about with somecrazy gizmo to get it working.

“Some people have criticised it for noisy output,especially the headphones.But that’s because it’s an

authentic MS-20 and they always were.In terms of thenuances of the MS-20’s sound,you have both a high-passand low-pass filter that are completely independent of eachother and they’re completely sweepable.They’re violent ifyou want them to be and when you dial in the resonance theycan bite your head off.

“Like many users I favour the early filter because it’sdirtier and grungier but the later one is a bit sweeter.Whenyou cut out with the low pass filter and add some resonance,the bottom end doesn’t collapse like it does on other synths.The sound quality is phenomenal.

“There’s something to be said for synths like this onewhere you can turn it on and never be quite sure what you’regoing to get.For me synthesisers should have character,andalthough I love Roland synths,they do sound tame incomparison.The MS-20 doesn’t have the envelope speed ofsomething like a Pro One so it’s not as good for drum sounds,but it’s still extraordinarily fat sounding.”

“I also think the build quality of the kit is better than theMS-20 Mini.You really can rest your hand on the top and ridethe cut off with your thumb as you’re playing without thecontrol knob wobbling around.Korg seems to have nailedthis analogue oscillator thing and I love the way you canoffset the tuning of the oscillators.That’s a really populartrick with the Scando Techno boys.The calibre of synthyou’re getting for just over a grand is just incredible.”

The small VR board alsoattaches to the frontpanel.

Before fitting the patchboard,place the clearplastic spacer over thejack sockets and use thenuts to hold it in place.

Remaining connections are made,includingthe cables from the mod wheel.

MTReviews Korg MS-20 Kit


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to hold the wheel assembly cablesneatly in place.

Eight screws secure the rear paneland, as always, ensure that the screwsare started in their threads beforet ghtening them all up. All that remainsis to push the knobs onto their potshafts and your MS20 should be upand running.

ConclusionIn total assembly will take around twoto three hours. The instruct ons areexcellent and there’s even atro bleshooting guide, but fortunatelywe di n’t need it. The basic start-up

guide is useful oo because it explainsthe auto power off fu ction anddescr bes how to hold down eysto switch between early and latefilter types.

Technical know how, solder ngab lity and a understanding ofelectronics are not required toco str ct t is MS20 Ki so it’s ideal ora eginner’s DI projec .

Eve so, t sho ld e (and indeeis ) a very sat s yi g undertak ng f re perie ced c structors too. J stake your ti e, be met odical anddo ’ let the exci ement get the be terof you.MT

MTVerdict

+ The resulting synth is superb+ It sounds awesome+ Beginners and experts alike will

love putting it together+ Great satisfaction after you have

completed it+ Easy-to-understand instructions+ No experience needed+ … just a screwdriver and wrench+ It’s an MS-20!

- Nowt

This MS-20 reissue is the real deal.You can run it old school or hook itup to your MIDI setup, plus you getboth sets of filters. And building ityourself makes it even more fun.

10/10

AlternativesAs far as we’re aware,it’s unprecedented for amajor musical equipment corporation to reissuean iconic product in self-assembly form.It wouldbe l ke Fender selling a Stratocaster kit and stillputting the decal on the headstock.If an MS-20 is what you want,there’sthe opt on of buying a vintage example for similar money to the ki ,butyou’ l only get one set o filters and MIDI connectivity won’t be includedunless the unit has been modified.You’ll also be taking chances withre iab l ty.The Korg MS-20 ini (£499) is well regarded but it hasn’t gotthe feel or v be o the reissue.Alternatively you could c ec out t e virtualMS-20 rom Korg’s egacy Collection ($49.99).

All the knobs have beenpushed into positionand the project iscomplete.

Korg MS-20 Kit ReviewsMT

Bass Station II is an exceptional synth. For £399 you could buya couple of high-end synth plug-ins. Don’t. Buy this instead. 10/10.

Andy Jones, MusicTech, October 2013

www.novationmusic.com/bassstationII

The Bass Station II is a synth with personality that producesripping, gnashy solos as readily as solid analogue bass.

I reckon Novation have a winner!

Paul Nagle, Sound On Sound, September 2013

“””

“


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The Single SourcePro-Audio Supplier


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The tracks1: Hunter2:Joga3: Unravel4: Bachelorette5: All Neon Like6: 5 Years7: Immature8: Alarm Call9: Pluto10: All Is Full Of Love

Björk had more than made an impression on themainstream by 1997. Her magnificent debut solo recordhad been superseded by the more adventurous follow-upPost which, although displaying significant musical

chops, still kept one foot firmly in the commercial pop pond.Mainstream hits such as her oft-lampooned cover of BettyHutton’s It’s Oh So Quiet bothered the British singles chartswhile high-profile relationships kept her hot property in thetabloids. However this was not a position that Björk hadparticularly longed for. Having to deal with the darker sides of

being a public figure – from a psychologically-damaged stalkerposting a sulphuric acid bomb to her London home beforecommitting suicide, to the headline– (and hair–) grabbingincident at Bangkok International Airport – were deeplyunsettling for the young artist to deal with. For her, music hadalways been the sole priority.

Björk approached the writing process of her third album witha very specific creative mind-set. She wanted the record to havewhat she defined as a ‘simple sound’ and reflect the landscape ofher homeland, Iceland. Using a variety of electronic instruments

Homogenic marked the moment when Icelandic experimentalist Björk evolved from akooky dance-pixie into an electronic titan. Andy Price explores this landmark album…

BJÖRK-HOMOGENICProducersBjörk,MarkBell,MarkusDravs,GuySigsworth,HowieBEngineerStevePrice

Björk, Homogenic Landmark ProductionsMT


LandmarkProductions No30


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Get

ty

and new, fresh approaches to composition, Björkworked closely with audio engineer Markus Dravs onthe initial sessions for the album which took place ather home studio at Maida Vale. Together they plannedand devised the bare bones of the record before thesudden surge in media attention brought on by thebomb incident. This, combined with her desire toretreat from the London electronic scene, convincedher to relocate to the Spanish studio of her drummerTrevor Morais. It was there, at El Cortijo Studios inMalaga where she would record and produce all of theensuing album, Homogenic.

Björk decided not to re-enrol producer NelleeHooper who had produced her two previous albums,and instead enlisted a cabal of close musical friendsand associates to co-produce the album with her. Asidefrom Markus Dravs the most significant creativecollaborator on Homogenic was Mark Bell, formerly ofSheffield electronic dance duo LFO, an outfit that had afundamental influence on the Euro techno genre. Markwould help Björk translate her sometimes moreleft-field compositional ideas as he recounted in aninterview with Groove Magazine in 2001“(Songwriting) is different every time with her.Sometimes it comes from a freeform session, a melodythat she hums to me, some basic chord structure or thelyrics. It’s always fun and she hasn’t anypreconceptions about genre so we take it wherever itwants to go.”

Also part of the production team was Scottishtrip-hop expert Howie B who previously worked with

Björk on Post and songwriter and producer GuySigsworth. Dravs would later say “When you work withBjörk, you are one of her closest relatives, you’re almostlike her brother.”

For many of the tracks that make up HomogenicBjörk would initially compose melodies individuallyeither in her head, spontaneously or on paper, andwould then use her small Casio keyboard to work outstring parts and various forms of musical backing. Sheand her team would then work through each piece froma rhythmic standpoint which was occasionally fraughtwith difficulty, especially when Björk would addunusual timing signature changes into her naturally-born compositions. Bell and Björk quickly developed astrong rapport and would work very closely on eachtrack “Could you make the bass-line more furry?” wasan oft-reported request of Björk’s to Bell during themaking of Homogenic.

The militaristic rhythms, darkly imperious bassline, reversed accordion and counterpointed etherealvocals that make up opening track Hunter set the scenefor what is to come. It’s a tense composition that findsBjörk in a completely new landscape to any she hadbeen in before. Joga sees Björk experimenting with acombination of Baroque and classical styles, with hugetowering ‘volcanic’ beats and exquisite string

ShewantedtherecordtohaveasimplesoundandreflectthelandscapeofIceland

arrangements (provided late in the production processby the Icelandic String Octet) that paint a sonic pictureof the geographical beauty of her homeland and is thereal conceptual heart of the record. She likened Joga toa sort of National Anthem. This track like no othershowcases Björk’s mastery of fusing the right elementsto creative emotive and powerful music – the soaringvocals, cinematic and richly-orchestrated stringsections are saturated with beats that some havedescribed as being akin to proto-dubstep.

Continuing the cycleThe next track, Unravel, makes significant nods to herIcelandic heritage as well. Using a vocal techniquewhich folklore specialist Njall Sigurason compares tothat of traditional Icelandic choirmen, Björk half-singsand half-speaks her way through a track whichRadiohead frontman Thom Yorke would later say “isone the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.”

Bachelorette was originally written for anabandoned film project and contains lyrics from hergood friend, the Icelandic poet Sjon. The songconceptually continues a song-cycle begun with thetracks Human Behaviour on her album Debut andIsobel from Post which lyrically concern the arc of acharacter called Isobel. Björk would elaborate on howBachelorette fitted into the Isobel-cycle. “She is leavingthe forest and she decides to go to the city to have anormal life. She tries her best and it doesn’t work outand she comes back to the forest and she is happierthere.” Clearly one doesn’t have to look far to see theparallels with Björk herself. The song would include arange of live instruments in the mix and alongside the

Former LFOco-frontman

Mark Bell took alarge role in the

production ofHomogenic

Björk, Homogenic Landmark ProductionsMT


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RexF

eatu

res

beats and strings, they included alp horn, accordion,timpani and timbales.

The gentle and contemplative All Neon Like followswith Bell’s trademark ambient drum and bass rhythmspunctuating the increasingly visual and fascinatinglyrics (including the delightfully incomprehensible ‘I’llcut a slit open and a luminous beam feeds you, honey!’)

5 Years includes stand-out 8-bit MIDI keys andelectronic, stompy drum programming. Later theemotive Icelandic String Octet return to engage in whatsounds like the audio equivalent of a duel with theharsh, treated drums while Björk herself pushes hervocals to the limit of emotion and drama. Immaturefeatures a textured landscape constructed fromvarious samples and highly-treated synthesiser loopsfloating on soft chordal pads. Once again Björk’s voiceis the standout instrument here, winding its waythrough the mix’s peppered assault course of elementswith varying degrees of power, emotion and dexterity.

The most conventional song on the record has to beAlarm Call, certainly in terms of instrumentation andmelody but not in terms of lyrical content ‘I’m no

fucking Buddhist, but this is enlightenment,’ Björkexpresses in this track, while multi-layered vocalsweave in and out, merging together like an auralmind-scape. Eventually the track falls into a relativelystraightforward groove.

The climactic song Pluto is as aggressive as Björkhas ever been, a completely explosive resolution to thetension that the instrumental juxtaposition found inthe previous eight tracks had created in the listener.Industrial overdrive and manic, screaming vocalsdefine this track. The hauntingly-beautiful All Is FullOf Love then quietly draws the albums to a close,inspired by the idea of mechanical people (as the song’svideo would make clear) it also featured clavichord anda final bow for the Icelandic String Octet.

The album was almost universally criticallyacclaimed upon release. The NME said Homogenic was“a stinging triumph for the spirit of adventure” whichsuccinctly explains why the album still stands talltoday as Björk’s most beloved work for both fans andcritics alike.

The album’s iconic cover art features Björk dressedin an Alexander McQueen-designed costume that issimultaneously futuristic yet traditionally oriental.Björk looked back on the overall themes of Homogenicin an interview with Pitchfork in 2007 where she said“Homogenic was different, it was quite an aggressivealbum. I’d gone through five years of doing five billioninterviews and being stalked. A lot of really happy

experiences, too, it wasn’t all bad. I was under a lot ofpressure that I had never experienced before, soHomogenic was very much like the sleeve art. We weretrying to make this person that was under a lot ofrestraint – like long manicure, neck piece, headpiece,contact lenses – still trying to keep the strength.”

Although Björk would later explore denser and moredeeply defined sonic landscapes with albums such as2001’s lushly arranged Vespertine and 2004’s vocallydexterous Medulla, it was Homegenic which cementedBjörk as a fearless explorer of new musical frontiers.By merging organic instrumentation with electronic tocreate an album so richly rewarding, Björk proved tothe world that she was quite a unique artist to bereckoned with. MT

BjörkAfter the success ofDebut and Post, Björkretreated from thelimelight, recruiting ateam of diversecollaborators andcrafting the dense butpersonal masterpiece,Homogenic.

Mark BellFormer co-star ofSheffield electropio eers LFO turnedhouse producer, Bellworked closely withBjörk to translate herideas into the layeredcompositions theywould become a d hadquite possibly thelargest hand inproduction duties.

Markus DravsMarkus Dravs andBjörk sketched outHomogenic’s conceptat her London-basedstudio. Dravs wouldhave free reign tocompose andexperiment alongsideBjörk’s own ideas.

Howie BLong-time creativecollaborator Howie Breturned to work withBjörk on this record,the two became closeand would eventuallybecome a couple.

The Players:

Homogenic set thestandard for Björk’seclectic career.

ShewouldlaterexploredenserthemesbutHomogeniccementedherasafearlessexplorer

MTLandmark Productions Björk, Homogenic


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• Plug into epic processing power with the all new Avid® audio engine.• Turbocharge sessions with 64-bit performance.• Delivermixes 150x faster with offline bounce.

Welcome to the new standard.

The audio workstation that redefined the industryjust gotmore powerful.

© 2014 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid,the Avid logo, and Pro Tools are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks contained hereinare the property of their respective owners.

Seewhat’s new:www.avid.com/protools11


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In the first of a new series o interviews wit people enjoying a successful career in theaud o industry, producer and film scorer Neil Davidge revea s how listening can he p n

any studio situation, and that gear isn’t everything…

MT Interview Neil Davidge


MT Interview The Professionals


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The Professionals InterviewMT

Neil Davidge teamed up with Massive Attack’s 3D for the best part of twodecades, working on much of the band’s outp t in the roles of writer,arranger and producer. He has also worked as a remixer, composer andproducer on tracks by Snoop Dog, Primal Scream, Elizabeth Frazer,David Bowie, Craig Armstrong and many other high profile art sts. His

music has backed ad campaigns by everyone from Jaguar to Adidas and his moveinto movie and game soundtracks has seen him score some big screen actionincluding Miami Vice and Halo 4.

Davidge’s debut solo album, Slo Light, featuring Sandie Shaw, Cate Le Bon,Karima Francis and more, is out now.

THE PERSONMuusicTech: How did you get into music making and production?Neil Davidge: I’m Bristolian and proud. I started messing with tape recorders andhome-made instruments at school with friends until we eventually decided on aname for a band and figured we should really buy some ‘proper’ instruments. I tookto the bass at first but, after a while, shifted to the guitar and eventually singing aswell as writing and arranging most of the material.

After signing a record deal I bought a 16-track recorder, a mixing desk, an A ariST and a rather large hard drive (300MB cost me £3k back then!). Then I began torecord, produce and write with and for various artists, b t principally the band DNAwho had a hit with the Suzanne Vega song Tom’s Diner. So began my ‘pop’ period.

I then worked with a bunch of mainstream artis s including the Minogue sistersand although, for the first time in my life, I was earning money from my passion Ifound myself disillusioned and losing that passion with each painful vocal take. Imade the break eventually and then produced a stoner rock band from Bristol whoI’d helped get signed to RCA.

It was on these sessions that I met 3D (Robert Del Naja) from Massive Attackand got talking about gigs and favourite albums and found we had much ncommon. Soon after I joined them on a session for a track for the Batman Foreversoundtrack and from there began working with the band full time on what was tobecome their third album, Mezzanine. I co-wrote an co-produced three studioalbums and a number of side projects and film scores over the next 18 years withthe band, working most closely with 3D.

I was keen not to let things get stale and towards the end of the albumHeliogoland I told Robert that I wanted to do my own thing and we amicably split ourbusiness interests and I set up a studio on the other side of town. My intention wasto focus on scoring movies. I’d already scored the movie Push as well as co-scoringClash Of The Titans, but my first project in the new studio was for the game Halo 4.Just prior to securing the game I’d begun working on a solo alb m and after the twoyears it took to complete the score, I then set about finishing my first solo album,Slo Light. Since then I’ve scored the movie Good People and I’m currently scoringMonsters: Dark Continent [sequel to the film Monsters].

MMT: What is your overall philosophy or trademark when it comes to musicproduction and composition?ND: Music communicates emotion more directly than any other artistic medium.Music is not just melody and rhythm, it’s also sounds and textures, associations,and experiences. I combine electronics, sound design and real instruments in orderto create a unique and deep emotional connection with the listener. I’m also a niceguy and work really hard.

I was earning money from mypassion but losing that passionwith every painful vocal take


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Trust your instincts and thoseyou work with to move in theright direction…

MT Interview The Professionals


IfyougivemeoneEQ,atonegeneratorandD-Verbthen Iwillgiveyouanorchestra…

MMT: Talk us through one of your production processesthat you tend to use most often and that perhapsdefines your sound over others…ND: I have no tricks and no secret processes andinstead take each project on its own unique merits. Itrust in my gut instincts and those I work with andmy wealth of life experiences and studioexperiences to nudge me in the right direction. In turn,these help me to nudge the people I work with or for inthe right direction.

MT: Describe your ‘sound’?ND: I really don’t think I can or want to.

THE ROLEMT:The role of producer seems to be a many andvaried one. How do you define it?ND: The underlining role of the producer is toassess what the project needs and makesure those needs are met, if not by himselfthen by others. This includes battlingrecord companies to make sure the artistmakes the record they want to makewhile at the same time making surethe artist themselves don’tsabotage their own career.

MT: What would you say yourinput is in a typical project?ND: Writing, producing, arranging,inspiring and directing musicians;overseeing programmers; gettinginto the head of the artist or maincreatives; organising sessions;and dealing with the money men.

MT: Over the years what advicehave you picked up fromworking in the music industrythat you can pass on?ND: It’s important to listen tothe ‘advice’ of others, hearwhat’s useful to you and atthe same time to be

confident in your own instincts enough to politelydisregard it without having a crisis. No artist, producer,composer or engineer with any kind of sustainedcareer has gotten there alone, each has had to workclosely with others. I listen to everyone, from themusicians to the cleaner.

MT: And from working in the studio?ND: That what you know comes second to what youfeel. If you stop listening with your intellect andinstead listen with your gut then magic happens andideas flow. The other thing is, it’s not about the gear,it’s about ideas. I can do pretty much anything in mystudio but some days I’ve got no ideas and no amountof gear is gonna save me.

THE GEARMTT: So, talking of the gear, tell us a littleabout your studio: the main components,how it came together and so on…ND: I have a 5th floor convertedapartment studio with three writingrooms in the heart of Bristol. I have aco-arranger (Drew) and programmer(Tom). We each run Pro Tools on Mac

Pros with a wide selection ofplug-ins including UAD, Waves,GRM, Ohm Force, Sonnox andSoundToys. Drew and I both runVSL Ensemble Pro on satelliteMac Pros for our Kontaktsample libraries (Spitfire Audio,Soniccouture, Heavyocity,Project Sam and many others).We have a selection ofinstruments, guitars, basses,drums and percussion, a cello, akantele, an ARP 2600, MoogProdigy, Arturia MiniBrute aswell as various soft synthsincluding the completeArturia set and various fromNative Instruments.Outboard these days is


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A typical project can involveanything from organisingmusicians to sorting themoney men…

Neil at Abbey Road studios.

The Professionals InterviewMT


mainly mic pres from Focusrite and Calrec – all otherprocessing is done in the box. I’ve had many set-upsover the years, starting with a 4-track cassette taperecorder to a full SSL G series studio with a load ofoutboard, but these days I prefer the flexibility ofworking in the box.

MT: What are your favourite sound generating studiotools – synths, guitars and so on – and why?ND: That changes from day to day and project toproject but I always have fun with the ARP and thekantele played with four e-bows always seems to endup with me having a few hours worth of audio to trawlthrough. I like surprises and I like unpredictable stuff– it feeds my creativity.

MT: And outboard – what plug-ins or outboard do youfind most creative and most useful in the studio on aday to day basis?ND: The UAD stuff is generally great-sounding – theiremulations of classic studio gear stacks up really wellagainst the real thing with the added bonus of instantrecall. I use the Sonnox EQ as an everyday EQ. Morecreative plugs are the GRM collection and I love theWaves stomp box plugs too. All of the above give melimitless power to mash up and sculpt but if you giveme one EQ, a tone generator and [Pro Tools] D-Verb,then I’ll give you an orchestra.

MT: What is on your wish list studio gear wise?ND: Pro Tools HDX, hopefully soon.

MT: What would you like to see developed in terms ofstudio technology and why?ND: The one downside of using computers andsoftware is latency, especially when playing over analready stacked-out session. There’s nothing that killsthe vibe more than when you wanna play somethingnew in and then your whole session spazzes out. I’dlike to see software developers pay more attention tolatency when you’re creating music rather than whenyou’re simply mixing it. Also, it does annoy me a bitthat the knobs on gear emulations aren’t optimisedmore for using a mouse, it can really put me off usingan otherwise great sounding plug-in.

THE LATEST PROJECTMT: When working on your own music, how does atrack come together? What inspires and what comesfirst in the song?

ND: I usually try to find a sound that inspires me first– it can be anything: melodic instrument, drum sound,sonic or voice. I start there, then improvise, find a coreidea and build on it without passing judgement toomuch and allow the process of creativity to find spaceand its feet.

MT:Tell us about your latest release, the thinkingbehind it and why people should get it. Plug away!ND: The album is called Slo Light. I wanted to make themost honest and authentic record I could. I’ve beenmaking music for other people for a long time and Iwanted to see what would happen if I was the soledecision maker and free myself from having to runthings past someone else. You should get it becauseit’s very good.

MMT: What have you got planned for the near future?ND: Finishing this score and then taking a break. I’vebarely had a day off in the last year, even worked overnew year this year so a holiday of some sort would bemost welcome! After that I need to start planning howto present the album live.MT

More from:http://www.neildavidge.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Davidge


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Music is Our Passion

www.thomann.deWorldMags.netWorldMags.net

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MTHow to record

MTHow to record...Lead vocals Part 2Last month, in the first of a major new series on recording, Jo n Pickford looked at howplanning and preparing will elp create the right atmosphere for reco ding a great ead vocalperformance. ow he explores t e tools and methods required to capture the perfect ta e…

40 | Ju e 2014 MAGAZINEWorldMags.netWorldMags.net

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The Audio Technica ATM510 isa great vocal mic and veryreasonably priced ataround £90.


How to recordMT

MTStep-by-Step Microphone Selection and Positioning

01 Choose the microphone that best suitsthe vocalist’s voice and the style of

track being recorded. Large-diaphragmcondensers are usually preferred althoughsingers with a very bright sound often soundbetter with a dynamic mic. If possible, set-uptwo or three mics and have the vocalist singbriefly into each at a starting distance ofaround 6 inches to find the best voice/micposition. Unless you want a particularlyroomy effect, use a cardioid pick-up pattern.

02 Determine which side of the vocalist’smouth produces the better tone by

moving the microphone from side to side or,alternatively, ask the singer to step to the leftand then right of the mic. Next, experimentwith the height of the mic. Increasing theheight will generally produce a fuller sound,adding body and richness to thin-so ndingvoices, while lowering the mic can restoredefinition and brighten-up wooly-edged voices.

03 Fine-tune the optimum distancebetween the singer and the mic during

the first vocal run-through. or an intimate-sounding vocal try a close-mic’ed method;3or 4 inches (7 to 10 centimetres) will give asound with lots of detail but also a fullbottom-end, particularly when using acardioid pick-up pattern. Louder vocals arebetter captured at between 6 and 10 inches.Always use a pop-shield between the singerand mic to prevent unwanted popping.

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So, you have prepared your recordingspace, free from extraneous noise andacoustically well-damped. Now you canthink about choosing the bestmicrophone for the job. The most

popular type of mic for vocal recording is alarge-diaphragm condenser, as these tend to have amore detailed sound and wider frequency responsein comparison to dynamic types. That’s not to saythat you can’t achieve excellent results with adynamic mic; many hit records feature vocalsrecorded with an inexpensive Shure SM58. Havingsaid that, hand-held microphone recording is bestavoided unless that’s the only way the singer canperform, and if your stand-mounted vocal mic hasa shock mount, do use it as this will furtherdecrease noise from mechanical vibrations.

Many condenser mics have selectable pick-up

patterns, the three main types being cardioid,figure 8 and omni-directional (hyper-cardioid is anincreasingly popular fourth option). However, mostengineers select the cardioid option for recordingvocals as this usually gives the best vocal toroom-sound balance. Ribbon mics can sound lovelyin the right circumstances but they are delicatebeasts that can easily be damaged by windpressure, so are not an ideal choice for loud vocalwork. Also, ribbons are bi-directional (figure 8) sowill pick up more of the room-sound than acardioid condenser or dynamic mic.

If you are lucky enough to have the choice of

several mics, it’s a good idea to set up two or threedifferent models and have the singer sing a fewlines into each in order to find out which one bestsuits the voice, remembering to make your choicequickly so as not to tire the singer and losemomentum. Once the selection has been made, finetuning of the tone can be made by optimising theposition of the mic in relation to the vocalist’smouth. There are three factors to cons der here:firstly, the distance between the singer and themicrophone wil have a huge influence on the finalsound. Very close mic’ing, with a distance between2 and 3 inches (5 to 8 centimetres) might work tocapture a very soft and intimate performance,revealing every nuance including mouth noises.However, in many cases such close mic’ing caninduce unwanted plosive ‘pops’ and increasesibilance. Also, especially when a card oid pick-uppattern is employed, low frequencies will be

Themostpopularmicforvocalsrecordingisa largediaphragmcondenserforadetailedsound


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increased due to the proximity effec . A the otherextreme, with distances greater than 12 inches (30centimetres), more of the natural room sound willbe captured. Occasionally, these room reflectionscan be used to create a desirable effect – DavidBowie’s vocal on Heroes for example was recordewith three mics: a standard close mic along withtwo amb ent mics at a distance of 20 and 50 feet,with a gate employed to open t e ambient micsduring t e oudest passages. Us ally hough, adis nce somewhere between 4 and 0 inc es (10 to25 centimetres is a good starting place or a

natural-so nding vocal that can eprocessed wi amb ent e ects s ch asreverb and dela d ring m x g. As age eral incipl , e oud r e v c l, thef rther you an p ace the mic.

he secon factor to d ermi e is whicside of your vo a ist’s mout produces thebes soun . It’s tempti g to place t emicrophone irec y in front of the singe ,however, we a l sing ( r speak) w hemphas s on either the left or right side oour mouths o som egree andusually one side wil sounbrighter than the other. Trymoving the mic from side toside in order to get he best

Asageneralprinciple,the louderthevocal,hefurtherawayyo

canplacethemic possible tone. Thirdly, experiment with theheight of the microphone in relation to thesinger’s head, as this wi l also present tonalvariations. It’s a common misconceptionthat positioning the mic above the s nger’smouth produces a brig ter sound whilelowering the mic will bring out a morechesty quality, when actually the opposite is

true; increa e the height or a fuller soundand lower it for treble em asis. Positioni g

the m c of -centre has the added advantage ofreducing ps and wind noises from the mouth,

spe king of which...It’s always advisable to use some orm of pop/

w nd-shield e ween the singer and microphone.Some mics come with a foam wind- hield that itsover the micro hone itse f, however, he e aren’t very

ffective at reducing pops and will likelycom r mise t e tre e-re ponse of themicrop one. Far better is to use a

sE make some great vocal mics(below) plus the ReflexionFilter (right) designedespecially for vocalists.

MTHow to record

MTStep-by-Step Monitoring On Headphones

01 Feeding the vocalist a good headphonemix will make the difference between

capturing a pitch-perfect performance andan uninspired, flat-sounding take. Create adedicated headphone mix a d feed that tohe singer’s cans rat er than just feedinghrough the control-room monitor mix. isten

on headphones with t e same mix so t atyou know w at the singer is heari g. Onceyou have achieved the desired soundcont nue monitoring on cans o know exactlyw at the singer is heari g.

02 The vocalist will not necessarily need tohear everything that’s been recorded,

especially if it’s a busy track. Priorit seinstruments such as bass guitar, kick andsnare drums, which contain the fundamentalelements of tune and rhythm.This should helpwith pitching and keep the singer locked-in tot e groove of t e trac . Add a little reverb tot e cans to crea e atmosp ere but don’t overdo it – a s ort reverb-t me sually works best.And don’t record the reverb o to the vocaltrack as it ca ’ be re oved la er.

03 Keep the headphone mix at areasonable volume. If the mix is too

loud, the singer may perceive some notes tobe either sharp or flat when they are not, andin an attempt to correct this will end ups nging off-key. Sustained loud headphonemon toring can be quite tiring as well aspoten ially damaging to the ears. Also, if hes ger prefers t mo itor w t one side on t ecans removed, the sound from the unusedspeake might leak into the vocal mic.


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pop-shield placed in front of the mic. If you don’town a commercially available pop-shield you canimprovise by sing some s ocking materialstretched over a metal coat-hanger.

One of the most important aspec s of vocalrecording is ensuring that the singer has a goodheadphone mix. It won’ do to just send yourmonitor mix to the cans, you need to set-up ade icate m x tha has the right amount offundamental tune and r y hm o help the

vocalist pitch correctly and stay in the groove ofthe track; bass guitar and kick drums are goodfor this. A little reverb added to the vocalfoldback is usually helpfu but make sure thereverb is not recorde along with the voca . Ifpossible, wear headphones with an identi al mix omonitor what t e singer is hearing, making surethat the level is not to high, as o erly-loud

Someprefertomonitor hroughonecan.JohnLennonhadonepermanentlydisconnected

headphone mixes can affect the singer’s ability topitch properly. Some vocalists prefer to monitorthrough just one side of a set of cans – Jo nLennon preferred this method and had his ownset with one channel permanently disconnected.With this in mind, if the singer wants to use thisme hod, mute the unused side to preventunwanted spill leaking into the vocal mic.

Many engineers like to compress the vocaltrack as it’s being recorded. Care must be takenhere as once compression is applied can’t beta en off. You may be better off riding the vocalfader if there are just a few loud peaks an leavecompression for the final mixdown. If you docompress as you record, be quite gentle wi h acompression ratio of around 2:1 and aim for nomore t at 5 or 6 dB of compression on the loudestparts. Remember, you can always experiment withheavier compression at the mixing stage. This alsoapplies to other processes suc as gating, whichcan ruin an otherwise good ta e if it’s notcorrectly set-up. Capture the performance fir tthen you can try-o t various effects andtreatments in a non-destructive way.

Nex month we will explore how to treatvocal once t ey have been recorded, includinghow to compile (comp), a great per ormance fromseveral recorded akes; how to de-ess an over

sibilant vocal and how best o u e effects suc asreverb, delay, com ression and equalization o helpthe vocal si n the final mix. MT

Another fine mic:theC414 from AKG.

How to recordMT


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e’re often asked about specific productiontechniques here at MusicTech, and notnecessarily those specific to particu arDAWs. So, in response, we’re starting anew series about some of today’s most

commonly-used (or indee secret!) production techniques– those that are both defining ge res an making musicwhat it is today. We’re illustrating them wit Pro Tools bueven if you don’t ow hat DAW you should be able to uset e ech iques s own within yo r sof ware of choice…

To kick things off M ke i lier is a kingside-chaining a d duc ing and diving…

Dynamics processors, both har ware an software,of en ave an addi ional “si e-c ain” nput w ich canof e go overloo ed, b t can be e to chieve a varietyof dvance product on tec niques. In bro dcast,c mpressor si e-c a ns ve long bee use to ac ievea c i g e ec , red c ng t e e el of the m sic wh let e D is s eaking. This same trick as a so bee sed n

usic p oduc io , for nstance d ck a g ita parh le the vocalis is s ngin . I e nce orld,

especially, t tec ique is incre ibly popular, duc it e nstr mental p r s i es on e to he kick r –

t tech iq e t a has bee s d f r wh e n w b lsoo e t at i l ver pul r.

B se d g e kic dr t th i e-c a ofc mpres r pl ce acros n inst m t, i stru e tca be ma e u i respo se o e k k. T is ea es

o g r y m c d a i , r g e o t st ia s ex ti g u d . o ea s m r r m f r thick m i t e mix, h i it is o po u r t e

da ce s e, ere a r ng i k m , as ve , se ialto t i .

of t f o use s t i ec i u D fnk, s th i e- a n f e is –t us dirt - di a e c s . e ,

’ eed d a re get s mi r s ltsma a r s, i l g emic I I g-i i r l , d - i

b ri r

We’restartingaseriesont eproductio techniquest ataredefininggenresa dmaking usicwhatit stoday…

Welcome to a new MusicTech series. Mike Hillier g ides you through today’s mostcutting-e ge and effective product on techniques, and kicks things off with side-c aining…

New Series Contemporary Production Techniques

PRO TIPMany dynamics processors,including the Dyn III,have an internalside-chain instead of or in addition to the external side-cha n.Thissplits the incoming signa and enables you to process the signal go ngto the side-chain internally. he most common technique here is tofilter out low- requencies,so the compressor isn’t triggered by anexcess of low-frequency energy.When used on busses,especially themaster buss, his can produce a much smoother,more naturalcompression as it isn’t not being triggered by every kick drum beat.

Side-c ain filters can also be used to create de-essers,byfocussing on o ly the s bilant region of the vocal and compressing thesigna on y when this region crosses the t resho .

MT Contemporary Production Techn ques


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MTStep-by-Step Getting a pumping sound

01 Send the instruments you want to pump in time with the kick to agroup buss. It’s best not to send everything, but to specify

specific soun s that wi l benefit, such as bass and pads.

02 On the kick track add a mono send, but don’t bother bringing thereturn back on its own aux channel. We’re just going to use it to

co trol the compressor side-chain.

03 Add an instance of a dynamics compressor/limiter (here it’sDynamics III in Pro Tools) to the group buss. And in the side-chain

key menu at the top left select the ick SC buss we created.

04 The side-chain is now routed to the compressor, but thecompressor is still not listening to it. In the side-chain section at

the top right, click the key icon to engage he side-chain.

05 The threshold control will now respond to the incomingside-chain. Set the ratio at 4:1 and lower t e threshold until

you’re getting a fair amount of compression (6-12dB).

06 Finally set the attack and release to time the pumping effect tothe rhythm of the track. A ast attack will bring the signal down,

quickly making room for the kick, while the release should be timed tocreate a rhyt mic pumping effect.

drum to get a big pumping synth sou d. Be carefu with whatyou send to the compressor to be pumped though. We oftenhear artists sending t eir entire instrument buss to bepumped through the co pressor, when a couple of simplechoice eleme ts would make for a far more excit ng andi teresting sound.

A other common tric for side-chain dynamics is to beefup the sound of kick dr ms with a gated sine wave.Th s timethe kick dru is sent to the side-chain of gate rather thana compressor. A sub-har onic freq ency is the sent to the

gate’s a dio i ut, which ca be tu ed to he key of thesong, or to add dept to the f n amen al of t e kick. Nowwhe t e kick drum crosses the gate thres o he g te wi lopen, letting he sub-har o ic s ne wave thr ug , n thenclose again once t e kick drops bel w t e thres ld,e sur ng he sub-h rmo ies a e only prese t at t e sa et me as he kic drum.

By c refully setti g the att ck, o /hys ere is a drelease controls o e te it possible to s pe thea plitude vel e of t e sin wave to lose y res le

Contemporary roduction Techniques MT


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that of a kick. Fast attack and slightly slower releases willproduce the most natural sounds, altho gh if you set theattack too fast you will create a high-frequency tickingsound as it opens, which may or may not be useful inaccenting the kick rum.

This same rick can be use o toms and, by substitut nga p nk noise waveform for the sine wave, it can be used onsnares too. It can also be used to create n automatedgating effect on other instrume ts.Try gati g a synth orv ca part to tr gger of the i-ha rhyt m.The extures tha

you can create wit t ese sounds can e qu te i teresting,and don’t always eed the orig nal sound to be prese t int e x. Usi g e h - at to trigger a gate o a syn h, forexample, can e sed to replace e h - at at ern en i ely,or as s bsti ute for i in di fere t secti of e song.T s ef ec is oft easi r to produ e, n o na u also din tha si g patte n sequence , r oma ioncont l a ga e. e ave recorded tap i g on esk se sa trig er o a ga e o a ccas ons, owin t e desta p ng cha el w l ever eac t e al m i se .MT

MTStep-by-Step Beefing it up with a sine

01 Add a new mono Aux channel next to your kick, and add aninstance of (in Pro Tools) Signal Generator followed by Dynamics

III Expander/Gate.

02 Set the Signal Generator to a sub-harmonic sine wave.You cantune this to your track, but is best around the 30-50 z range.

03 Similar to the side-chain compression earlier, set your dynamicsgate to key from the kick SC channel and enable the side-chain. 04 We want to completely gate the signal when the kick isn’t

triggering it, so set the Range to f ll (-80dB) and the ra io to 100:1

05 Set the threshold to trigger only on the peaks of the kick, so thatthe gate isn’t open for very long.This enables us to better shape

he sub ick with the attack and release.

06 Finally, when setting the attack and release we’re controlling thespeed at which the gate opens and closes, allowing the sine

wave through in response to the kick.Th s shapes the envelope of ournew sub kick.

MT Contemporary Production Techn ques


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One of the key skills of producing music in thevirtual domain is MIDI editing: refining theall-important musical data used to drive thevirtual instruments in your Logic project. All toooften, though, it’s easy to overlook the ability to

edit and refine MIDI data – to be distracted by an all-together more alluring world of instrument plug-ins andeffects – but in truth, the way that you handle andmanipulate MIDI data can be as creative as any part of theproduction process. Handling MIDI data in a fluid way, andunderstanding the myriad of creative possibilities that canbe applied to it, can transform your music in a profound way.

Rather than exploring Logic’s MIDI editing features in alaboured way, we’ve decided to take a look at a variety oftechniques and possibilities with MIDI editing that mightsuggest new ways of working, or a more balanced use of allLogic’s features. At first, we explore the link between theInspector and the Piano Roll editor, two of the primarymeans of editing MIDI data in Logic, as well as seeing thepotential importance of ‘normalizing’ some of your editsalong the way.

One of the key overarching themes in this workshop isthe idea of ‘intelligent’ selection – selecting multiple MIDInotes using a few simple keyboard shortcuts rather thanhighlighting them on a note-by-note basis. With many MIDIperformances often containing tens, or even hundreds ofnotes, it’s often the speed and efficiency that you selectnotes that can make a real difference to how quickly yourMIDI edits are applied.

Beyond note selection, we also look some unique

menu-driven ways that Logic can transform your MIDI data,often applying a process that could take an eternity to carryout by hand. Ultimately, the combination of improved noteselection, along with some handy menu-driventransformations gives you more freedom to be creative withyour MIDI data, whether you’re editing a complex drumpattern, moving different musical lines around a virtualorchestra or using controller data to make your music moredynamic. Enjoy the tutorial! MTThis tutorial is endorsed by Point Blank Music School whichspecialises in courses on production, sound engineering, themusic business, singing, radio production, DJ skills and filmproduction, all run by top British music producers and mediaprofessionals, with regular visits from legends in music andmedia. www.pointblanklondon.comIt’seasytobedistractedby

alluringplug-ins,buteditingMIDIisacreativeprocess

AdvancedMIDIeditinginLogic

On the disc

Accompanyingproject file included

on the VD

Logic’s heritage as a MIDI sequencer really shines when it comes to adopting a speedierand more creative approach to editing MIDI data. Mark Cousins takes note…

FOCUS ON… SCALE QUANTIZINGOne of the more intriguing elements of the Piano Roll editor is Scale Quantize,whichworks as a form of pitch-correction tool on MIDI information.Selected notes can be setto a user-define scale – like Major or Natural Minor – as well as a chosen key.Oneimmediately-interesting application is to use o e of the more unusual scale types – likeSouth-East Asian or Dorian – to see how it transforms your music.Another possib lityworth exploring is the combinat on of MIDI Transform’s Ra dom Pitch combined witScale Correction,which transforms an otherwise atona collection of random notes intosomething that could be considered music.

Logic Pro X Become a Logic Power UserPowered by

PowerSeriesPt. 10

MTTechnique Advanced MIDI editing in Logic


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MT Step-by-Step Improved Drum Editing

01 In this first example we’re going to explore some possibilitieswith editing drums, starting with the hi-hat pattern.The

Inspector is often the first port of call with many MIDI edits – in thiscase, applying a straight 1/16th quantize and fixing the dynamics –using the extended region parameters as part of the floating regioninspector, alt + R - so that the velocity is flat.

02 Editing between the Inspector and the Piano Roll editor can get abit complicated when you’re moving between the two layers of

editing, so it’s often useful to normalize the region parameters, makingthe region edits permanent. Ctrl click on the region and from the MIDIsub menu select Normalize Region Parameters.The quantize anddynamics changes are now hard-written.

03 One of the key ideas behind more efficient MIDI editing is theidea of intelligent selection. One of the best examples is arguably

the menu option Select > Same Subposition, or Shift + P. In the case ofthe hi-hat we can select the accents for one bar, then initiate the SameSubposition command to have Logic select the remaining bars.

05 If you’re working between multiple regions, it’s worthremembering the Set Note Color function as part of the Piano

Roll editor. In this example, try selecting all the drum-based regionsand then open the Piano Roll editor. Now switch the colour settingusing the menu option View > Set Note Color > By Region Color.

04 With the notes selected,we can now use the Velocity slider aspart of the Piano Roll’s local inspector to increase or decrease

their relative level. If we want to adjust the level of the other notes inthe pattern we can use the Invert Selection function – Shift + I – toshift our current selection accordingly.

06 Another useful tool for MIDI drum editing is the Nudge feature,which enables you incrementally shift the position of one or more

notes using the left and right arrow keys in conjunction with the Altmodifier.You’ll need to set the nudge value (Move > Set Nudge Value to> Division) to ensure it’s set to a division for 1/16th movements.

Advanced MIDI editing in Logic TechniqueMT


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MT Step-by-Step Dealing with MIDI chords

01 The next few examples explore some interesting techniques inrelatio to worki g w th chords. One really useful tool in this

context is the Force Legato feature, found under Trim > Note End toFollowing Notes (Shift + \).Try t is on the Cinemati Stri gs regio andsee how the note length is change to make a smoo h tra sition.

02 One useful skill with chord sequences is the ability to split-outthe notes to different instruments – in this case, doubling the

bottom two notes on clarinet and the top note on flute.To start, copythe strings to the c arinet, open the region and use the menu optionSelect > Highest Notes (Shift + Up Arrow).

03 With the top notes selected, press mute (Ctrl + M) to silencethem. Copy the region over to the flute, selected the muted notes

(Shift + M), un-mute, Invert the selection (Shift + I) and then mute.While this seems complicated, it actually ill strates how a few simplekey presses can transform your MIDI Data.

05 Try applying the Set MIDI Channel to Voice Number function onthe Hammond track. In this case, the notes end up being divided

among the t ree differe t organ manuals (Upper, Pedals and Lower).You can achieve some interesting effects chang ng t e drawbar set i gbetween the three man als, colouring each part of the chord in adifferen way.

04 An interesting alterative to the technique described here is themenu option Functions > Set MIDI Channel to Voice Number,

whic divides a chord between a series of MIDI channels.This is we lworth do ng with the View > Set Note Co or > By MIDI Channe enabled,so that you can see the MIDI assignment by colour.

06 If you’re intending you use your separated note data with othervirtual instruments, it might be worth using the contextual menu

item MIDI > Separate by MIDI Channel. Once applied, your originalsequence data will be split into three reg ons, one for each voice of thechord, each of wh ch can be mapped to a separate virtual nstrument.



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MT Step-by-Step Getting creative – controller data and beyond…

01 The MIDI Draw area at the bottom of the Piano Roll editor iswhere you can access the MIDI controller data and, of course,

MIDI velocity settings.This view is particularly useful if you use thenote data by Region Colour view, although it’s also handy in that youget a detailed overview of the respective velocity level between notes.

02 Using the drop-down menu in the local inspector, you movebetween any one of the 127 assignable MIDI controllers. Working

with the synth bass track, for example, we can use the modulation tocontroller the filter cutoff. Use either the pointer tool to add new nodesor the pencil tool to draw freehand.

03 One of the key points to note about the MIDI Draw area is that youcan access the same information at arrange-level. From the

Tracks Area, use the local menu item View > MIDI Draw > Modulation.You should now see controller data directly from the arrangement,although you’ll need to make sure the vertical scaling is suitably ‘large’.

05 Working with the Synth Bass part, there’s a number of interestingtransforms we can apply. Fixed Note Length adds a more

machine-like feel to the sequence, especially if we then reduce thenote length by half (effectively creating notes 1/32nd in duration). Alsotry Random Velocity as this is mapped through to the Filter.

04 When it comes to modifying MIDI data, there’s a host ofpossibilities to be found under the Functions menu in the Piano

Roll editor, especially under the MIDI Transform sub-menu. Wheneveryou apply a transform, Logic will take you through to MIDI Transformdialogue. Click on Select and Operate to initiate the transform.

06 Going back to the drums, one of my favourite MIDI transforms isthe Humanize option, which adds small amounts time drift and

velocity randomisation to mimic the style of a ‘human’ performance.The great thing here is that you can add Humanize progressively –making the performance looser each time.



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Mixing is a process that can happen in one ortwo stages of the music production process.The first stage is creative and compositionbased, where people may mix as they go.Here they’ll solely concentrate on mixing as

the track comes together with possibly a separatetweaking stage at the end.

The second stage is after the composition is completeand sounds are in place, to then mix with a subjectiveoutlook. Some people will ignore major mix decisions untilthis stage as it gives them the most mix options aspossible while they only have their mix engineering hats on.

Although mixing has creative sound design aspects, it alsohas many practical tasks and assessments that need to becarried out. With your creative hat on, you can find thisdifficult to do, so if you stop to take care of these matters,it can have a negative affect on your creative workflow. So

there is a good reason to separate these two mixingprocesses if you can.

To help commit to this separation, it’s worth renderingout all of your tracks to new audio. This helps you decidewhen you’re truly ready to mix, while also removing thetemptation to tamper with compositional aspects duringthe mixing stage. Rendering out your audio also frees upcomputer resources which means more processing powerfor plug-ins. Finally, if you intend to send your work out tobe mixed by an engineer, this process will create files thatthey can use.

To export your project’s tracks to new individual audiofiles, highlight the duration of the whole song and thenselect Export Audio/Video from the File menu. This opensup a large range of options and we recommend you remainat Live’s native bit-depth of 32-bits, and stay at the samesample rate you’re working at. The sample rate you’recurrently using is signified by having a small speaker iconnext to it. The only other option that needs configuring forthis task is the Rendered Track menu (all other optionsshould be disabled). Select Individual Tracks for renderingand then select a new, clean, mix project folder to putthem in after clicking the Export button. You will now havea new file for every track which can be imported into a newproject. Until next time, happy mixing… MT

PowerSeriesPart 10 Mixingtoolsandtechniques

On the disc


on the VD

When it comes to mixing, Live offers both classic and contemporary mixingtools for a variety of sonic options. Liam O’Mullane walks you through hismain choices of devices and editing tools to make your mixes shine…

FOCUS ON… EXPANDING YOUR GO O TOOLSThe library of audio effects in Live’s browser offers a good range of funct onal andcreative mixing tools to choose from.EQ Eight and Compressor/Glue Compressor arethe most obvious choices for frequency and dynamics control,but there are manyother devices w ich are worth exploring for frequent mixing tasks.

Alt ough you can use a low- and igh-cut EQ to bracket a sound’s frequency rangeusing an EQ Eight,a Cabinet dev ce can ac ieve a similar effect with much more addedcharacter.This is partially due to its narrower frequency bandwidth that creates atelep one ike effect.But this ca be balanced wit t e orig nal s gnal using the dry/we control to return a sense of fidelity.The ra ge of the bandwidt estric ion,orbrac et, s selecte through the spea er setting.Transient smear ng is at its mosaffect ve when you se ect a dyna ic mic from t e micropho elist and exp ore its posit o .

Cabi et ad s a element oynamic control as part of its

processing as wel ,bu otheroptions ike Saturator and Dyna icTube ev ces can do this w i eof eri g a di feren character. se acareful balance o drive and out ut– you can eit er go for aully-processe an clipped soun ,

or balance t e dry/wet amount or abalance o t e origina signa to re a nsome ynamics.

Re ux’s Bit Reduct o ca be usedto red ce a soun ’s ynamic range,but it wi l

create a dir , lo-fi c aracteristic.T is ca be usef l or g v ng o e or wo soundsdisti ct to e of the r own i the ix.Harmonics can also be intro uced usi gDownsample when set o se ts Sof mode.Use a very s all amount to ntroduce agl ss so nding top-en for d l sou ds.

Wh tever tool end up e ng your favo rites,save some time nd c eate aefa lt processing c a n by Rig PC] / Ctr Mac] + c i i g o a track’s name. ere

you can save de u open ng state or future e IDI or a di tr c s.A ter loa i gin yo r pre erred m x-too s o track,se ec S v As De u IDI or A io rarespe t vely. o al new trac s wi l e reated wit t is chai of

ev ce pre- oaded.

Ableton Live Become a Live Power User

It isagoodideatotryandseparateyourmixingstagefromyourcreativestage…

MTTechnique Mixing tools and techniques


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MTStep-by-Step Processing, side-chaining and automation

01 Although Live’s Compressor Device is perfectly functional, GlueCompressor can be used to add some character for dynamic

processing. Glue is a great channel, group and mix buss compressorwith its SSL-like smoothing effect. Enable the Soft Clip function andexplore driving the signal using the Makeup gain for a hot sound.Youcan always then use the dry/wet dial to make this a parallel effect.

02 If you need to remove unwanted sounds, try editing the unwantedportions out rather than using a gate device.This offers a higher

level of individual control to tidy up audio over a more ‘set and forget’approach used with a gate. After highlighting the portions you don’twant, delete them, then select Show Fades from the Create menu.Youcan now drag these start and end fades to suit each audio event.

03 As compression is the process of level control, you can alsocontrol dynamics using Live’s editing functions.You can automate

volume, but this limits you for making level adjustments down the line.Instead, add a Utility Device at the end of the Track’s processing chain,then automate its gain parameter. For more natural automationchanges, hit Alt on automation lines to drag and create curves.

05 Many devices have the ability to be side-chained, so respond tothe amplitude levels of an external signal. Most people only use

these on single or grouped sounds, overlooking the option todynamically control ambience effects.Try adding a compressor toeach Return Track and set them to take Audio From the drum group.This make your mix move with a pumping, rhythmic sound.

04 Use an EQ Eight before any processing to remove unwantedfrequencies. Add another at the end of the chain for re-balancing

the frequency curve of a sound. Check unnecessary bottom-end thatneeds removing using the analyser on the first EQ.The second EQ’sanalyser monitors how your processing is affecting the frequencycontent – useful when trying to fill out holes in your mix.

06 Those with Live Suite can get creative with side-chaining usingits Max For Live based Envelope Follower. Place this on the track

to be the source sound for side-chaining, then click map beforeclicking a parameter you wish to control.This moves in time with theaudio events on the track with the device on. Use a multimap device tomultiply and started mapping this source to various destinations.

Mixing tools and techniques TechniqueMT


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MTStep-by-Step Advanced and unique processing

01 An Overdrive device is useful for thickening up the harmoniccontent of a sound. First, find the right frequency area and width

of focus using the device’s bandpass filter.Then control the density ofdistortion using drive and its brightness using tone. Finally, compressthe signal as required using the dynamic amount, then dry/wet canblend the processed signal to taste.

02 Another option for thickening up specific frequencies is the VinylDistortion Device.The tracing model graph can be used in much

the same way as the bandpass filter on an overdrive device. It’s thepinch graph below where things get interesting as harmonics aredistributed across the stereo plane, making it useful for alsoenhancing its stereo width.

03 We discussed setting up mid and side processing using AudioRacks in Part 5 of this series.This simple process lets you add

different processing to the middle (mono) and sides (stereo difference)for a higher level of control.To get used to how these sound, aftersetting-up, solo each one and play with their respective balance tohear which part of the sound each chain represents.

05 Another good place to consider processing mid and side signalson their own is for ambience effects.Try using a different reverb

device, or Max For Live Convolution Reverb on each signal with uniquesettings.This creates a much deeper and engaging ambiencesoundfield. A shorter decay time on the middle and longer on the sideworks well for an enhanced sense of stereo spread.

04 If you have a stereo signal,a good way to enhance how stereo itsounds is to compress both the mid and sides of the signal

separately.This way you can reduce the dynamic range of the sides sothe stereo aspect of the signal is more consistent in volume.Raising thelevel of the sides will then make the sound more stereo than mono.

06 Live’s Vocoder device can function as a noise based exciter.Withthe carrier set to noise,the reverb-like noise effect can have its

decay time altered using the release value.After setting the device to40 Bands for the best fidelity along with a maximum frequency range,explore the depth and formant controls to tune its noise to best suit thesource sound and EQ it to taste drawing into the filter bank.

Mixing tools and techniques TechniqueMT


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When working with Cubase, one of the biggestproblems that I come across, particularly whenworking on the older versions I find in schools,is that the variety of sounds was not always as

comparable with other DAWs. Now we’re in version 7.5, theselection is much greater, but as musicians we are alwayslooking for the most appropriate sounds available ratherthan just settling for what is available.

I am a bit of a ‘gear-head’ and have in my studio anumber of very nice external MIDI devices from the trueanalogue of my Moog Little Phatty to the most digital andmodern sounds of my Roland V-Synth via a whole stack ofdrum machines and other gadgets I rarely use.They all havetheir appeal and I use the appropriate one at theappropriate time. So, althoughCubase does now have arange of decent soundswithin the MediaBay, thismonth we will be looking

at how to incorporate sounds from external devices intoprojects via MIDI and how to capture the audio back in.

As well as using external devices, many users of Cubasemay well be familiar with linking the software to otherprograms through the ReWire protocol. Both Reason andLive work with ReWire and can be controlled by a masterDAW and in this article we look at how to set this up withinCubase. (Hollin or Liam will be able to write in more detailabout the Reason or Live side of the protocol, but for now Iwill focus on the Cubase side.)

The need to link the software to these external devicesand pieces of software is less common now that all of themajor DAWs are trying to make their programs all-in-oneboxes. However, while they try and do that, there’s been agrowing number of hardware releases over recent years totempt us back ‘to the outside’ so it is still important that weunderstand how to use these features in the software. Andyou never know when you’ll want that old rack synth in theloft back in your set-up, so here’s how to best marryhardware and software and also to ReWireother software into Cubase.MT

Developersmaythinkyoucandoitallintheboxbutthere’salotofhardwaretotemptyouout

PowerSer esPt. 10 Routinghardwar&softwareintoCubase

On the disc


on the VD

With more new hardware coming out and lots of classic hardware available Tim Hallaslooks at how your DAW can become the perfect hardware/software environment…

DEVICESETUPI have noticed an unfortunatehabit within certain devices thatfeature USB MIDI as part of theirsetup of also grabbing the audiooutput as well.My Little Phattyis gui ty of th s,and no matterwhat I do, can’t get it to allowaudio from both computer andsynth to play at once via in-builUSB.The only way I have gotround this is by using traditional5-pin DIN M DI connections.These ight seem antiquated,but actua ly using a MIDI hubsuch as my old M-Audio 8x8MIDISport a lows me to connectmultiple devices with very litt eprob em – and o ogging ofaudio parameters – at the sametime as the ealing w th all thatimportant IDI data.I hencapture the audio as describedabove with no problem.

Cubase Become a Cubase Powe User

MTTechnique Routing hardware and software into Cubase


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MTStep-by-Step Reaching outside of the box

01 To begin routing MIDI information to an external MIDI track, youneed to have a ‘true’ MIDI track rather than a Software Instrument

track. Load one of these by selecting Project> Add Track> MIDI.This willbring up a dialogue box to choose how many tracks you want.Theseare different to Instrument tracks as Instrument tracks are more of ahybrid MIDI/Audio track.

02 Once your track is loaded you need to route it to the externaldevice that it will be controlling.They can be found in the

drop- down box in the Channel Inspector panel on the left hand side.Once the output is selected, choose which MIDI channel you want tooutput on – from 1 to 16 – so that there is no muddled MIDI databetween tracks.

03 At this stage your external device should be receiving MIDI data,and assuming it is connected to an amplifier of some variety, it

should be making sound.You can now provide it with any MIDI data thata software instrument would receive, including note data andautomation via Continuous Controller information.

05 By adding an audio track into the Arrange window (Project> AddTrack> Audio) and routing the input from your interface to that

channel you can capture the audio. Connect the output of your externaldevice to the audio input and simply hit record.The computer will sendthe output of the MIDI to the device and then capture the audio as it isrecorded back in.

04 If you are integrating the sounds generated into a project that isrunning audio and other devices,there needs to be some way of

collating all of these sounds which traditionally would have beendone via a mixer – and we can do the same in Cubase via theMixConsole and Arrange window in the software by taking an audiofeed into the computer.

06 There is potential that this capture might be minutely behindthe project, but I have never noticed it enough to be a problem. If

you want to adjust it within the Arrange window, re-align the capturedaudio with the beat or the original MIDI data until it is back in time withthe project.

Routing hardware and software into Cubase Technique


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MTStep-by-Step Reaching other software via ReWire

01 The ReWire protocol is a temperamental beast and requires thesoftware to be opened up in the correct order. Start by opening

Cubase, but not opening a project.Then open Reason (or othersoftware) and it should say ‘ReWire Slave Mode’ as the audio device.Open your Reason project and then the Cubase project to makes surethat all the conduits link correctly between the pieces of software.

02 When working with ReWire, although the whole process remainswithin the box rather than leaving the computer as it does with

an external MIDI device, we still need to use a MIDI track rather than anInstrument track. So start by creating one in Cubase by following theinstructions above but don’t yet route to the output or channel.

03 For this I shall be describing working with Reason, but it workssimilarly in other ReWire slaves. At this point there will be no

sound, as although you have the software link, it is not yet turned on toallow sound through. By selecting Devices> *device* Rewire this opensup a dialogue box to select all the outputs available – I’ll come to thisshortly. Start with L+R mix.

05 If you then want to import the information back into Cubase, it iseasier than with external MIDI devices as it can be done inside

the box. Decide how you want to capture the audio, either as mix orindividual parts for further processing. If the former, export the audiofrom the ReWire program or by soloing the ReWire mix in Cubase andexporting that and then re-import it into Cubase onto an audio track.

04 You now need to assign tracks to instruments between thepieces of software – start by selecting the sound source you

want to use in the slave and setting up the instrument.Then in Cubase,the instrument you have just loaded will appear as a device in theexternal MIDI tracks available.You can now play and record the MIDIdata between Cubase and the slave.

06 If you want to capture individual sounds, route the outputs ofeach instrument in Reason into channels on the Hardware

Interface.Then in Cubase go back in the Reason ReWire box and turnon those channels that have instruments connected to them.Thenwithin the Arrange window, solo that individual track and export theaudio and then repeat the process of export and import above.

MTTechnique Routing hardware and software into Cubase


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MTReviewsHardware Software Mobile Technology Samples

We love Elektron – let’s getthat out of the way.Thecompany does things itsway and doesn’t really

seem to care what anyone thinks. Itproduces great hardware beat andsynth machines which are, as StellaArtois would say, reassuringlyexpensive.‘Too expensive?’ you mightsay, but I’m a firm believer that everyindustry needs something that you canaspire to buy. Not that Elektron is in the‘supercar’ league where no-one canafford the gear, but it is set in a stratawhere you have to be serious aboutwhat you are doing in order to considerbuying it, which means – in anadmittedly snobby way – ‘no riff-raffhere’, so consequently you won’t findElektron sounds everywhere.

Which is good.Having said that, the gear really

does have to deliver the goods for themoney being asked for it, and in theMachinedrum, the Monomachine, theAnalog Four (on which this unit isbased, and reviewed back in April 2013– indeed for more on this synth’sarchitecture read that review) and theOctatrack, it’s a case of ‘so far, so great’.They do what you want and a whole lotmore, but they do cost…

Analog Keys is a four-part analoguesynth with digital control, effects, a stepsequencer, a 37-note semi-weightedkeyboard, MIDI control capabilities plussome neat sound-morphing by way of ajoystick. In fact, it is filled with featuresfor the composer and performer but,more interestingly for the studio user, isits forthcoming Overbridge feature.

This will enable the synth to be seenas a virtual synth within your DAW, thusoffering the best in hardware combinedwith the ease of use of a softwareinstrument. It will be one of the firstanalogue synths to be able to sit withina DAW environment like this, but notethat I have said ‘will’ twice as,unfortunately, this promised feature willnot be with us until Q4 this year. When itdoes come out, though, it will also bringfull, bi-directional USB audio and totalrecall of the analogue parameters.Great stuff, but as I write this we’re onlyjust in Q2, so we have a while to wait…

Front panelBecause this analogue synth is digitallycontrollable and comes packed withfeatures that you won’t find on astandard analogue synth, don’t expect astandard front panel.There are rotaries(10, far right) for controlling parameters,

With more performance features than a circus, Analog Keys is aimed at everyone from liveplayers to analogue boffins. But does it spread itself to thinly? Andy Jones is on the keys…

for sure, but they can control multipleparameters.The panel is set up with anemphasis on the on-board sequencerwith its four selectable tracks on the farleft (plus effect and CV/gate tracks) and16 trigger buttons in a row along thebottom near the keyboard.The keysabove are used to select patterns orsounds from potentially 4,000+ on offer.

ArchitectureThe manual, then, goes straight into thedata architecture of the synth so it’sworth a quick run down of how it works.

You start with the basic sound, andfour of these make a Kit (includingeffects and CV settings). A Pattern is asequence of note data as you mightexpect and you can have 128 of theseavailable across eight banks (16 ineach). A Chain – stay with us – is asequence of patterns; 64 of these areavailable which then go to build upSongs. Finally a Project is the wholething including up to 128 Patterns andKits; 16 songs, four Global settings andthe 128 sounds in the sound pool. If thisall sounds over the top, maybe it is, butwhen was Elektron ever going to doanything by the book?

For now, just get your head aroundthe fact that there are tons of building

ELEKTRONAnalog Keys

DetailsPrice £1,449Contact Elektron+46 317 437 440Webwww.elektron.se


MTReviews Elektron Analog Keys


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KeyFeatures4 voice – 2

analogueoscillators pervoice

2 analoguefilters per voice

1 analogueoverdrive circuitper voice

37 keysemi-weightedkeyboard withaftertouch

Up to 4096Sounds +drivestorage

Dedicated MIDIcontroller mode

Step sequencerwith parameterlocks

DedicatedCV/Gate and FXsequencer tracks

Reverb, delay,chorus send FX

Connections:headphone, 2x main outs, 4 xstereo outs, 2 xexternal ins, 2x dual CV/Gateouts. USB 2.0

blocks here for song creation and forgetting ideas down. Sounds combinewith Kits (effectively multi set-ups) tomake Patterns to make Songs andProjects may contain multiple ideasand Songs (up to 16). It’s just a differentway of thinking for the traditional DAWuser – basically you can do everythingyou need to do within one box, it’s justthat box is not a computer. And, by andlarge, as well as an ideas generator, thisstructure is aimed at the performer.

SoundsAs the sounds are at the very core ofthe architecture, it’s time to spendsome time stepping through them.Thisis best done by loading in a Kit of foursounds.You can select the Tracknumber, one to four on the left, to playthe sounds that make up the Kit, andthen use the Sound Selection dial oneach part to change the sound thatmakes up the Kit. It’s also worth havingsome Patterns ready to trigger as youaudition the sounds as these are linkedto the Kits so when you change thesounds within a Kit, the Pattern willsimply play these new sounds in placeof the old so you can audition thesounds in context.

As you go through the sounds itfeels a bit random, at first.There aren’tthat many large groups by sound type(although you can search by sound typeto get them clustered together) so it’sall a bit surprising, but I actually likethat. Who wants to delve through500 bass sounds in one

go? So you go from incredible Vangelis-type pads with one preset to attemptsat English trumpets the next.Theformer is brilliant, the latter… pleasestop doing brass on synths – synthsshould be used to make new sounds!Having said that, there is a delicateEnglish Horn preset that demonstratedenough subtlety to be very inspiring

indeed.This synth sounds best off road.Indeed, the sounds that really work

well are the more fantastical ones: thepads, the dirty rhythmic ones and thesequenced ones.These not only showoff the power of the analogue enginebut how dramatic the effects can be.There’s some pure joy to be had diallingup the Vangelis-a-like pad, the dirty,quirky Hatcher2; and the other-worldlyKraksong. Basses too are full, large andbeefy. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewinga couple of big-bottomed synths overthe last year in the form of theNovation Bass Station 2 andMoog Sub Phatty

and can say that the arse on this fella iseasily as big.

There’s plenty of lo-fi effect typepresets to dig into too. Later in bank Bthere are all sorts of alien-like textures,plenty of bizarre movement and loadsof depth. Indeed, with some of thesounds the combination of great presetwith effects often meant I thought I wasplaying a multitimbral performancerather than a single preset sound.

From the literature, I (mis)understood that there were supposedto be 4,000+ sounds in the Drive SoundLibrary. However that is not the case.There are 256 each in banks A and Band the rest, in banks C to P are emptyslots for you to fill. A little disappointingbut I’m not complaining too much. Less

is more when you have this high aquality engine and set of presets.

Which is where my – albeit small –problem lies. Analog Keys is often aboutperformance, sure, and all aboutbuilding blocks as a scratch padcomposer. I’m not a live performer butcan see that there are oodles offeatures for the player. I don’t think theyare particularly well implemented in all

AlternativesFor an analogue synth‘sound’there are literally hundreds ofoptions available,so I’ll just go through a couple that I’ve reviewed.These are the Novation BassStation II (£399) which is surprisingly flexible,great fun and veers very much towards a classic acid sound.The Moog Sub Phatty(£849) has an incredibly-rich tone but can also be very contemporary in its outlook – indeedmany of its (only) 16 presets seem made for modern dance music.Both are only monotimbral andmonophonic.The Nord Lead 4 (£1549) has lots of sy thesis types (including a virtual analogue).Itisn’t true analogue but I mention it as it sits in a similar price point,and is four part multitimbral (likethe Analog Keys). It comes with a rich choice of performance options which I think are betterimplemented too.It doesn’t sound as‘analogue’but you get more polyphony (20 notes).

Youcandoeverythingyouwant inthebox, it’sjustthatboxisnotacomputer…


We love the Elektron design ethos.Thecompany designed an analogue synth but made

it look incredibly modern – not retro at a l – and itfits in well with the company’s other products.

Elektron Analog Keys ReviewsMT


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Method SpotCreating patterns is relatively easy on the Analog Keys. You can use Grid Recording whereby you switch on or off one of the 16 Trig buttons as it cycles (like step recording) to input notes or parameters, or Live Recording where you play i real time as the pattern cycles aroun . The first is better for easier input and accuracy and it’s also easy to c ange soun as you program away. This is real y the guts of the Analog Keys a d you s ould give it a go to hear the potential.

cases. To play a Pattern, for example, you have to hit two keys simultaneously and then another to choose the pattern and then hit play. Why not use the big dial to do this instead? Turn dial, click, simple. And the Sound section has Sound Manager and Sound Browser options that essentially do the same thing. So some things are dead straightforward while others unnecessarily complicated.

It’s almost like two people have come at this from completely different drawing boards and both met half way.

Do we want a great sounding 4-part analogue synth with digital control? Or do we want a great performance synth? They’ve opted for both, but I think one design occasionally gets in the way of the other.

Which means that the bits that I absolutely love – and I really do – i.e. the synth engine and the noises it makes, are almost hidden behind the bluster of various performance modes and complexity. OK I’ve admitted I’m no performer so would rather use this within my DAW set-up, probably ignoring most of the machine’s potential. But as I said at the start of this review, there is more to come in six months time: a software update that will make this unique: an analogue synth which you can control like a VST, with USB audio. Now that’s a synth that I’ve been waiting for…

So, live performers? This is a synth for you. Scratch-pad hardware sequencer people? Likewise. But expect

Give me that update! In six months time this could well be the synth I’ve been waiting all of my life for…

a steep learning curve because Analog Keys is typical Elektron. They don’t make it easy or cheap, but if you have the cash and are prepared to invest time then you will reap more rewards with this than any other piece of hardware. They’re essentially testing your mind and your wallet. Can you pass the financial and mental test? Are you good enough to own an Elektron machine? If I’m honest, I’m not. Not in its current incarnation.

Give me the engine and the sounds, that will do. And give me that update, because in six months time this could well be the synth I’ve been waiting for all my life… MT

MT Verdict

+ Amazing sound engine+ Inspiring presets+ Lovely design (as are all Elektron

machines)+ Simple track layout makes Kit

editing easy+ Lots of modulation features+ In six months time there’s a big

update+ Fantastic effect and CV track

features

- Some ease of use issues- Over complex architecture- Big update… in six months time

It’s almost a machine that does too much, but concentrate on one thing at a time and you’ll reap rewards, and in Q4 of this year, this could well be THE synth to own.

8/10

MT Navigation Analog Keys front panel

a SOUND MORPHING

We didn’t have time to touch upon this much in the review but use this joystick to morph between sounds. It’s a feature we’ve loved since owning a Yamaha SY22 back in the day!

d GLOBALThe layers

within Analog Keys may be a little confusing at first, but here’s where you select them (includ ng Kit, Pattern, Song and Track).

b TRIGGER KEYS

These are used for step sequencing and real-time sequencing so, as the patterns cycle around, you can program them. They are also used to select sounds and patterns.

c ROTARIESWhile these

aren’t tied to any particular parameter, they do tend to edit the most common parameters, so when a sound is d alled up you will usually find they allow you access to the parts you want to edit.

a

c

bd

inputs for routing external signals i to the Analog Keys MIDI In /Thru/Out; and a comprehe s ve CV/Gate section. Flexible!

MT Reviews Elektron Analog Keys


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Not long after the release ofthe Nord Lead 4 (reviewed inMT128) the Nord Lead A1was announced to some

surprise at the Winter NAMM show.With the name and the simplified frontpanel it definitely seemed to be pushingthe analogue-modelling side of thingsso let’s look at the concept…

The A1 is designed as an analogue-modelling synth, yes, but there’s more toit than that.The interface is streamlinedto allow for ‘ fast-track programming’ inthat it moves away from the slightlymore complex architecture of the Lead 4and straight into the bare bones ofanalogue programming. (Not that Ithought the 4 was particularly tough tomaster – indeed, I thought many of itshands-on performance features wereout of this world. See my review at www.musictech.net).

The A1’s design comes from the factthat people wanted something toprogram quickly and effectively. Butdon’t think ‘cut down’ as, if anything, thesynthesis engine is supposedly moreanalogue-sounding than that on the 4,as it has an all-new core that ‘recreatesa total analog signal path with uncannyrealism’ and also features some newand clever tweaks to make things more

interesting and instantly hands on.

The new stuffThe most important of these are whatNord call Oscillator ConfigurationShortcuts.These are quick ways ofsetting up complex oscillatorconfigurations – the heart of youranalogue-modelled sounds. So you geteight preset variations – with many subvariations – all ready to go.

As the building blocks, these areimportant so are:Pitch, which simplyadjusts the pitch of oscillator 1;Shapeadds extra wave shaping via theon-board waveforms (of which there are47 to choose from);Sync adds a hardsync by way of the additional oscillator;Noise adds, you guessed it, noise;Detune adds the second oscillator;SubMix adds a second with waveform (withSine,Tri Saw and Square shape options);FM adds the classic FM configurationwhere osc 1 is the carrier and 2 themodulator;and finally AM adds ampmodulation by way of osc 2.

Other new features include a ‘Like’feature, that simply allows you to store asound you are working on in a

TheLeadA1isanaccessibleanalogue-modellingsynth,butNordhasalsounleashedacreativemonster,asAndy Jones discovers…

temporary location. Sounds obvious, buthow often have you liked something buthave wanted to move it on to somethingelse and lost that initial inspirationalsound? Here you keep that first version(saved in one of 50 temporary slots) andsimply come back to it later.There’s alsoa Multi Focus feature that controls allfour sound slots that make up aperformance so you can, for example,change all four sounds in real time.

Getting back to the main sonicarchitecture, the filter section from theNL4 is, fortunately, largely retained withthe 12 and 24dB low pass, high pass,and band pass options;plus the superbdiode and ladder filters (on the NL4)that emulate those from the Minimoogand the TB-303 synthesizers;and finallyyou get the drive dial for even more dirt.

The A1’s LFO has a choice ofwaveforms and a 3-stage ADR/ASRModulation Envelope and LFO rate canbe sync’d to the master clock.Two neweffects – ensemble and chorus – modelvintage synths like the ARP and Solina.These are in addition to the reverb,delay, ring modulation, phaser, flanger,and drive available independently oneach slot on the A1.

So, new features, a lot of retainedfeatures but a whole new engine andsome new effects.That’s got to mean it’stime to try those sounds, right? Sort of…

OK, let’s notLike the NL4, there are no groups ofsounds found in any particular slots –

NORDLead A1

KeyFeatures4-part multi-timbral26 voices ofpolyphonyPrograms: 8x50,performances:4x508 oscillatorconfigurationsAnalogueand digitalwaveformsLFO with 5waveforms12, 24 dB low-pass, high-passand band-passfiltersFiltersimulations of

ini and TB-303Effects:ensemble,chorus, phaser,flanger, ringmodulator, driveUSB MIDIFour outputs;pan on frontpanel

DetailsPrice £1,249 (LeadA1R will cost £1,049and ships end May)Contact SoundTechnology01462 480000Web www.nordkeyboards.com

Looks simple,and small,compared to theNord Lead 4,but (not very far) beneath the A1’sfront panel lies creative genius…

/1Choice EdEdEdEdEdEdEdEdEddEdEdEdEEEEEE ititittttititororororororrrroroooo ’s’s’ss’s’s’s’ss ChChChChChChChChhhhChChChCCCCC oioioioioioioioiiiicececececeeeeecececececcccc

MTReviews Nord Lead A1


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it’s all pretty random.But what comes across is a set of

preset sounds that is more unified thanthose on the NL4;not as varied,obviously, but a collection that hangstogether better, all around a similar coreengine. Oddly, because they are morefocussed they come across as a littlemore useable to me, but I am a fan ofthis kind of sound – the sound of thepure synthesizer rather than the typewhere you literally get all the bells andwhistles added.That’s not to say it’sbetter than the Nord Lead 4, just morean expert in one field rather thanspreading itself over many.

So, right about here, I should detailthose many excellent leads,arpeggiations, plus the deepest virtualanalogue basses you will ever hear andall of that amazing analogue movement.

But… STOP!… because I’m not going to talk aboutthe presets, and that’s never happenedbefore. What would have been an easybit of writing – ‘deep basses here,searing leads there’ and so on and soforth – is simply not going to happen inthis review.The A1 is virtual analogue,and it’s Nord, so you know they’re goodpresets, ok? And the truth is the A1 hasthem by the bucket load, but it’s whatyou do with them that counts, andcounts more than ever before…

As I stepped through each preset,preparing to describe them for you, Ifound myself doing something ratherunusual:programming. And exploring. Ibegan pressing the hold key, triggeringan arpeggiation and simply dialing dials.And this is where the A1 turns from youraverage preset buster, into what itshould be used for:creation!

So I have a sound playing… prettymuch any of the presets on offer. I playwith the filter drive for extra dirt. I thenchange the filter type for bite. Everythingis sounding great so far. I then do more

obvious things like dial the filter andresonance controls (yes, I am using the303 filter at this point). But the real funcomes when I switch between theOscillator Configurations that prove tobe the A1’s secret weapon.You’re notjust changing the sound, sometimes youare composing as you progress. Switchbetween some of the harmonicwaveform variations, for example, andyou find yourself creating notesequences which change note as the

configuration changes. It’s hard toexplain but what you end up with aremelodic riffs which change in both noteand timbre – all inspiring stuff!

Hit the Osc Contrl dial and you canmake the results scream or becomemore mellow. Hit the filter andresonance again and you havesomething altogether more expected,maybe, but in combination with whatyou’ve just done with the oscillators, youcan get some very different stuff indeed.It’s analogue magic! I urge you just toplay with the dials. It’s here that you alsorealize why they’ve put that Like featurein – you’ll fill the 50 spaces very quickly.

ConclusionWhich brings me too quickly to the endwith little time spent on the other A1features. Mutator and Morph aretouched upon in the box above and addmore fun to the sound creation side ofthings, and in Performance mode, readthe above and multiply by four!

As to the A1 as a concept, I have toadmit that I was initially a littleconfused as to where it fits in. Butultimately that doesn’t really matter asoverall it is simply one of the mostcreative synths I have come acrossbecause you get so much instant, easy,hands-on, real-time and dramatic

access to any sound.The oscillatorconfigurations are a genius way ofchanging the whole architecture at thetwist of a dial and, used with the othercontrols and Morph feature, are simplyinspiring. I will use the A1 with my DAWconstantly in record mode so I canrevisit whatever I capture to use asideas for songs going forward.

So I am genuinely surprised by theA1. It’s come from nowhere – a totallyunexpected synth from Nord with one ofthe most ‘instant’ feature sets I’ve everused. And while it’s smaller than theNord Lead 4 (in physical and sonicterms) I can’t help thinking that itssimplicity, its creativity and its qualitywill win it many friends. Nord might havetrouble marketing it, but the A1 standson its own, and is my kind of synth, asyou can probably tell. If you have ananalogue heart, hold a note, dial somedials and after five minutes, you’ll bewon over too… MT

The Nord Lead A1R is,not surprisingly,the rackversion of the A1 and out at the end of May.Itcosts a couple of hundred pounds less.

AlternativesThere are lots ofvirtual and‘proper’analogue synths tochoose from.At therisk of repeatingmyself from theElektron review,twopages ago,at t echeap end you havethe monophonicNovation BassStation II (£399),which doesscreaming bassesand leads very wellindeed.TheaforementionedElektron AnalogKeys shares someanalogue soundsand performanceaspects but is thatbit pricier and morecomplex.You alsohave to mention theNord Lead 4.You getbags more soundtypes as it veersaway from the pureanalogue,but itdoes offer morevariation (for morecash at £1559).But none of t esew ll put a creativesmile on your facelike the A1.

PerformancefeaturesThe Nord Lead A1 features some great performance aspects that al owyou to change the sounds in real time by flicking the odd switch or modwheel.The Morph function,so common on other Nord keyboards,is alsopresent on the A1.It is great and allows you to control several parametersa the same time – usually by mod w eel or velocity – o gradually (orquic ly) morp a sound.Impu se orph,the more instant,button-pusvariation of t is,available on the Nord Lead 4,is ot included on the A1.

Mutator is on the A1 t ough!This is one of my favo rite features onthe Nord Lead 4 and allows you to instantly progra ew so nds basedon an original preset.So dial up a sound you like,choose a‘Processstrengt ’of betwee 1 a d 5 (5 g v ng you the most dramat c sonicvariation) it Execute and you wi l get a new version of the original soun .Yo ca continue o create variat ons o t e origina preset nsta tly (orvariat o s of e so nds you crea e fro it r even generate a randomversion. ust keep going unti yo get somet ing you ike – great fu anda s perb way of sonica ly exploring without *wh sper* rea ly know ngwhat you re doi g.

MTVerdict

+ A creative joy+ Will turn you into a programmer+ Loads of great presets…+ …but you are not relying on them+ … as it’s so easy to create your

own sounds+ A genuine surprise

- Manual not great (tells you to turnto the page you are already on formore info!)

- Not immediately obvious where itsits in the Nord range

- Narrow in focus- You’ll run out of ‘Like’ spaces

pretty quickly!

A synth that came from nowhereand is creative, addictive, simpleand a joy to use.The NL4 wasexcellent.This is like a ‘best of’ forpeople with valves as organs andwave-shapes as heartbeats.Youcan program a synth.This synth…

9/10

I’mnotgoingtotalkaboutthepresets,somethingthat’sneverhappenedbefore…

Nord Lead A1 ReviewsMT


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Universal Audio is well knownfor its high-end audiointerfaces and range ofDSP-powered audio effects

that model some of the most legendaryhardware processing units everproduced. Its latest release is the ApolloTwin, a 2x6 Thunderbolt audio interfacefor Mac with on-board processing andthe same top-flight internal electronicsas its bigger brother, the rackmountable Apollo.The focus here ismore on portability, but withoutcompromising on quality. It’s importantto remember that you’re not just buyingI/O here, you get an internal ‘brain’ aswell in the form of one or two cores forrunning the company’s plug-ins.

Fit and finishThe Apollo Twin is smaller than youmight imagine but extremely solid andrather fetching to look at. Finished in

DetailsManufacturerUniversal AudioPrice Apollo Twin HanSolo: £699 inc VATApollo Twin DynamicDuo: £899 inc VATDistributor SourceDistributionContact020 8962 5080Webwww.uaudio.comSystem requirementsMac with ThunderboltportOS X 10.8 or 10.92GB disk spaceThunderbolt cable

sleek metal, it is extensively portedunderneath and gets warm (though notespecially hot) during use because ofthe significant quantity of electronicscontained within. It connects to yourMac (Windows is not currentlysupported) over a Thunderbolt cablebut this doesn’t carry power due to thecomplexity of the device, so it must bepowered from the mains via thebundled adaptor.

You don’t get a Thunderbolt cable inthe box which is a bit of a shame. It’strue that they are significantly moreexpensive than USB or FireWire cables– and correspondingly more advancedand powerful – but if you don’t alreadyhave one you’ll have to factor an extra£30 or so in to your purchase price.There’s only a single Thunderbolt porton the Twin itself so you won’t be able todaisy chain devices through it, thoughall new Macs except the 11-inch

MacBook Air have two Thunderboltports so this shouldn’t be a problem.

On the rear panel you will findThunderbolt, a power switch and alocking PSU input which is a nice touch,plus combo mic/line inputs, stereomonitor outs, two further line outs andan optical input.There’s no MIDIunfortunately though it’s hard to seewhere MIDI ports could have beenplaced without making the box larger.On the front edge is a jack input forplugging in an instrument and also aheadphone port.

The top surface of the Twin is anexercise in elegant simplicity, the samekind of approach that Apogee takeswith its higher-end Mac audiointerfaces. In the centre is a large,infinite level knob which is used to setthe level of whatever parameter iscurrently selected. It can also bepressed to function as a switch to flipbetween input channels or to quicklymute when in monitor mode. On the leftyou’ll see channels 1 and 2 togetherwith a simple LED level meter and aswitch to toggle between mic and lineinputs for each. A Link button lets youconnect the two to act as a stereo pair.

Quick controlsOn the right, a Monitor button lets youquickly jump between working with themonitor output and headphone levelsand there’s a contextual level meter foreach. Running along the base of theunit is a row of buttons and in additionto the Link button already mentionedyou can quickly toggle input selection, alow cut filter, phantom power, a padswitch and a polarity switch.The simpleand approachable design workflowmakes the hardware a breeze to use,and even a beginner should be able tofigure out how to connect things quicklyand easily. Internally, the Twin operatesat up to 24-bit, 192kHz and haspremium quality mic / line preamps aswell as Unison technology for modellingclassic tube and transformer-basedmic preamps in software.

In order to get up and running, you’llneed to download the UAD installerappropriate to your version of OS X,which installs multiple plug-ins, thoughyou’ll only be able to use the ones you

UNIVERSAL AUDIOApollo TwinProducingmusicinasmallspaceoronthemovedoesn’tmeancompromisingonquality,asHollinJonesdiscoversafterputtingUAD’sApolloTwinthroughitspaces…


HANDSONBy offloading the processingrequirements of its own effectsonto the DSP hardware in the intUAD effects without taxing yo r computer’s own processor.This isespecially useful if you are on a lower or m d range machine, or want toreserve your native CPU power for ot er instruments and effects, thevast majority of w ich wil ru off your internal CPU.

UAD Apollo Twin ReviewsMT


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BEAT PRODUCTION COMPACT CONTROL MASTER CONTROL ANALOG SYNTHESIS


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Apollo Twin comes bundled with UA plug-ins,so it’s a cheap way of getting these qualityeffects,and they won’t add to your CP load.

authorize.The Twin comes with theRealtime Analog Classics bundle whichincludes guitar and bass emulationsfrom Softube as well as UA’s 610 TubePreamp and EQ.You also get Legacyversions of the 1176SE/LN classiclimiting amplifiers, Pultec Pro EQs,Teletronix LA-2A Classic LevelingAmplifier, CS-1 Precision Channel andRealverb Pro reverb unit. Running onthe Twin’s own SHARC-based DSP,these processors provide a great set oftools for everyday tracking and mixingapplications and there’s no noticeablelatency when using them either forrecording or when mixing.

Loaded in your DAW just like regularplug-ins, they don’t tax your computer’sCPU and the bandwidth of Thunderboltis easily sufficient to fire data back andforth.There are limits, of course, andsome plug-ins use more power thanothers, so a list of how many instancesof each plug can be run on the solo orduo Twin models can be found on UAD’swebsite. Owning the Twin opens thedoor to purchasing any of UAD’s other

effects since these will also run on theonboard DSP, so it’s a relativelyaffordable way of getting into thatwhole world.

Software controlAs is often the case with smallerhardware units, it’s possible to delvemuch deeper into routing andconfiguration by using a softwareconsole. For the Twin this is acomprehensive set of tools that workwith the box connected and thatprovides a detailed view of exactlywhat’s going on. It essentially shows youall the routing and setup optionsavailable at the same time, in a friendlysoftware window that lets you remotecontrol the operation of the box.

Inserts can be added, channelslinked, levels set, monitoring controlledand there’s even the option to use auxand virtual channels. Virtual channels,of which there are four, let you routeDAW tracks through the console formore processing and greater flexibility.There are also two independent stereoAux busses. In the Console settings youcan configure reference levels, delaycompensation and the sample ratesettings up to 192kHz. Helpfully, youcan easily save setups so it’s simple toswitch, for example, between a vocalsession preset or a live performanceone.The UAD Meter and Control Panelapp lets you view CPU usage, check forupdates and manage and buy anyplug-ins you choose.

Twin turbo?The Apollo Twin is a beautifully-designed audio interface that worksseamlessly and offers pristine audiorecording quality over a singleThunderbolt cable. As a desktop unit it’ssmall and unobtrusive but cleverly puttogether so you can access the mostimportant parameters with a couple ofbutton presses. Much more than that,you get access to the world of UAD’sDSP-driven plug-ins, highly renownedfor their character and fidelity.

You might ask why, with modernCPUs like Intel’s i7 being hugelypowerful already, you would needseparate DSP processing when it costsmore money.The dual processor Twincosts more than the single, though it’sarguably a better investment given theextra power. If you don’t want access toUAD’s plugs, you can probably stick withyour native effects.They do sound greatthough, and designing them specificallyfor the SHARC processors lets UADoptimize them as fully as possible and

understand the signal path from end toend. From the developer’s point of view,it’s also a useful security measure to tieauthorisations to hardware.

Add to this the fact that noteveryone’s Mac is top-end and you needyour native CPU to run your DAW, yourOS and other third-party instrumentsand effects, and the appeal ofoffloading high quality audio processingto an external, latency-free box whichalso happens to be your interfacebecomes clearer. This is an exquisitelymade audio interface that also happensto expand your computer’s processingabilities and opens the door to theworld of UAD plugs. For anyone who isserious about audio fidelity, it definitelypunches above its weight.MT

MTVerdict

+ Solid, compact build+ Beautifully designed, great

workflow+ Easy to understand+ Excellent audio quality+ Top-flight circuitry+ Bundled plugs are great for

tracking, mixing+ Software console allows for

detailed setup+ Add plug-ins as required+ Good integrated recording and

monitoring solution

- No MIDI- No Thunderbolt cable supplied

A serious little box that punchesabove its weight and offersexcellent recording and monitoringcapabilities as well as access toUAD’s plug-in universe.

9/10

KeyFeaturesSolo or DuoSHARCprocessors2 mic / line inputs2 analogue lineouts, 2 monitoroutsThunderbolt port24-bit, 192kHzoperationHi-z in,headphone outLockable powerinputRealtimeprocessingAU, VST, RTAS andAAX64 plug-informatsRealtime AnalogClassics BundleSoftware console

AlternativesApogee makes some similarly high-end audiointerfaces for the Mac including the Quartet at£1,099 which, although lacking DSP-poweredplug-ins, has more I/O with four ins and eightouts as well as MIDI, iOS compatibility andUSB2, making it more widely compatible wito er Macs. UAD also makes the originalApollo, a rack mountable unit with 18/24 I/Oand FW800 with the option to add aThunderbolt card. It comes in duo and quadprocessor vers ons though as you mightexpect, costs more than the Twin, starting ataround £1,669.


UAD Apollo Twin ReviewsMT


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By Sontronics’ standards, thenew Aria is borderlineconservative in appearance,but we think it’s all the better

for it.The cylindrical body has a chubby5cm diameter and a very attractivesilver-metallic finish with a greenishtinge.The company logo is cut into themetalwork and highlighted in black,with a contrasting silver ring separatingthe body from the screw on base.

The head grille looks like a hybrid ofthe classic AKG C12 and a taperedNeumann design.The outer mesh isnice and chunky with at least one fineextra layer on the inside. It’s also nickelplated, which gives the Aria a very classyappearance and nothing obstructs thecapsule itself.

Although the capsule is wellprotected, it’s still possible to see that ithas AKG-style edge termination ratherthan a Neumann-style centre tap. Sowe’d expect an extended high frequencyresponse with some degree of presence

lift.The Aria is fixed cardioid but the reardiaphragm means that patternswitching could have been an option.

Design philosophySontronics has adopted a distinctphilosophy when it comes tomicrophone design.Trevor Coley fromSontronics says that they seek to create“application specific mics to help theend user”.This is an acknowledgementthat many of the great sounds peopleassociate with classic condensermicrophones were only realised after afair amount of processing.

Many of today’s recordists haven’thad professional training, and may nothave access to the signal processorsrequired to ‘finesse’ raw microphonesounds. So Coley’s approach is to createmics that sound ‘right’ for specific

applications – in this case, vocals.The design process took over three

years because Sontronics wanted toavoid simply rehashing a classic mic.Extended tests were carried out withtop engineers like Paul Epworth andseveral in-house guys at Abbey Road.

Sontronics selected a JJ-brandedvalve made by Tesla in the SlovakRepublic.The often-overlooked powersupply is a complete revision from pastdesigns with extra mains filtering toreject external interference.Interestingly, some of the technologyused is taken from power supplydesigns used for hospital equipment.

On the voxWe jumped straight into some vocaltests and we were not disappointed.The Aria has a breathy presence,flattering yet well-controlled mids,ample cut and definition and nolow-end boominess. We encounteredno sibilance issues whatsoever.

We sensed there’s a degree of verylow frequency roll off – way below thevocal frequency range – that’s intendedto eliminate rumble and undesirable lowfrequency content.This maydisadvantage the Aria as a bass or kickdrum mic, but it’s the frequency rangethat many pro engineers habitually filteroff when recording other instruments.

The Aria particularly excelled whenwe used it up close. Proximity induced

Designedforvocals,Sontronics’Arialooksclassyandhasanimpressiverangeofaccessories,singsHuw Price

low mid boost only becomes obviouswhen placed within a hand span of thetalent. We also noticed that the cardioidpattern is fairly wide, so the off-axisresponse is forgiving for singers whostruggle to stay on mic and it’s possibleto achieve dry, up-front vocal soundswithout filter-type screens.

The Aria isn’t a cheap microphone soit may be seen as an extravagance if it’sonly suitable for vocals. Fortunately it’s

a very capable all rounder too, with thesilky and shimmering highs providingimpressive detail resolution for delicateacoustic guitar picking, percussion andeven clean electric guitar.

Shipping in a lovely engravedwooden box with a generous length ofquality interconnect cable and superbflight case, we’d say that this isSontronics’ classiest offering yet.Theexcellent military-grade screw onconnectors are also a massive step upfrom the flimsy multi-pin Cannonconnectors that come with so manymodern valve microphones.MT

AlternativesThe Avantone CV12 (£400) is a ninepattern valve microphone with -10 dBpad and 80Hz LF roll off switches and aRussian made 6072A tube.The PelusoP12 (£999) is inspired by the AKG C12but it has nine polar patterns.Assembled in the USA,the outputtransformer is a custom unit made byTom Reichenbach of CineMag Transformers.

Shippingwithalovelyboxandsuperbflightcase it’sSontronics’classiestofferingyet

SONTRONICSAria

KeyFeaturesResponse: 20Hzto 20KHzSensitivity: 18mV/Pa -33dB ±1.5dB(0dB=1V/Pa1000Hz)Polar Pattern:CardioidPad: -10dBFilter: 75HzImpedance: <200OhmsEquivalent NoiseLevel: 18dB(A-weighted)Max SPL for 0.5%THD@1000Hz:125dBPower Supply:SPS-2 115/230VConnector: 8 inscrew on

DetailsPrice £899Contact01202 236862www.sontronics.com

MTVerdict

+ Excellent detail resolution+ Bright but smooth sound+ Subtly flattering mids+ One-stop solution for vocals+ Fine build quality+ HPF and pad switching+ Stand clip included+ Fine accessories+ Low noise+ Lifetime warranty

- Cardioid only- Bulky suspension mount

A superb-sounding valve condenserwith a airy, detailed tone, high buildquality and great looks. Fixedcardioid pickup is the onlycompromise.

9/10

/1Choice

Sontronics Aria ReviewsMT


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Over the last five years thevirtual drummer has evolvedfrom an instrument that (atbest) sounded like a real kit, to

a tool that forms the backbone of yourrhythm section. So we’ve come toexpect more from our virtual drummingsoftware – not just a collection of MIDIloops, but integrated mixing software,kit customization and more besides.Even the off-the-shelf DAW has got inon the act, with Logic Pro X’s Drummerfeature being one of the best integratedsolutions we’ve seen, so any virtualdrumming software offering somethingnew has a lot of work on its hands!

EZ does itAs one of the more cost-effectivesolutions on the market,Toontrack’sEZdrummer has built up both a largeuser base and accompanying soundlibrary. Borrowing many features fromSuperior Drummer 2.0, EZdrummeroffered immediate, great-soundingresults with the minimum of fuss.However, with the world of virtualdrumming moving so fast, it was clearlytime for a refresh – providing a tool thatstill had the same immediacy asEZdrummer but with a host of featuresthat made the end result even morecloser to a real drummer!

EZdrummer 2, therefore, has awealth of new features under its sleeve,not to mention a new set of ‘core’ drumsounds. Importantly, for those that have

DetailsManufacturerToontrackPrice £99Contact Time + Space01837 55200Webwww.toontrack.com

assembled a large library of expansionpacks for EZdrummer, it’s worth notingthat existing libraries will loadthemselves into the new engine,complete with updated graphics, mixersettings, and of course, the all-important MIDI grooves.

EZdrummer 2’s core library isdivided between modern and vintage,with the modern kit being recordedthrough a Neve 88R and TG12345consoles, while the vintage drums weretracked through a rare REDD console.All the kits – covering selections fromDW, Gretsch,Yamaha, Ludwig, Sonor,Tama and Brady – where recorded byChuck Ainley at Mark Knopfler’s BritishGrove Studios. Alongside the main kitsounds, there’s also a sprinkling ofpercussion sounds – including shakers,tambourines and claps – which addextra flavour to the main kit.

Finding your grooveAlthough we’ll return to the sound of thekits later on, arguably the most usefulimprovements to EZdrummer relate tothe use and selection of the MIDIgrooves and, latterly, the means ofsequencing these loops into a completeperformance. Of course, the majority ofvirtual drumming software (and theoriginal EZdrummer) offers little morethan a means of browsing integratedMIDI content, with the resultant songbeing created by dropping the MIDIloops over to a track on your DAW.

Subsequent edits, therefore, requireextensive editing in your DAW, often ona note-by-note basis.

As with Logic Pro X’s Drummerfeature, EZdrummer 2 realises thatmeans of sequencing the drums is asimportant as the sounds themselves.As a result, EZdrummer 2 includes anumber of tools – from a more intuitivemeans of finding and selecting grooves,through to the ability to modify them ona musical level – that makes theprocess of drum sequencing infinitelyquicker, without sacrificing yourall-important creative input.

Looking first at the selectionprocess, easily the most ingenious andrevolutionary features has to be the

TOONTRACKEZDRUMMER 2Toontrack’slatestrevisionofEZdrummerhasplentyofboldandinnovativenewfeatures.MarkCousinsfindstheperfectbeat.

AlternativesXLN Audio’s Addictive Drums (€179) is popular,easy-to-use virtual drumming solution, with arange of drum kits and MIDI grooves. As withmany other virtual drumming solutions, thenotion with Addictive Drums is that chosenloops are dragged-and-dropped into to yourDAW for further e iting and refinement. Onthe plus side, you get access to more internalsignal processing options, although thisarguably adds complicat on to t ose thatsimply want a great sound with the minimumof f ss. Compared against the shiny newEZdrummer 2, though, it’s showing its age,especially with respect to the loop browsing.

For PC& Mac

/1Choice

EZd


rummer 2 ReviewsMT


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Tap 2 Find option found under thesearch tab. Rather than wading throughthousands of MIDI files by name,Tap 2Find lets you suggest a basic rhythm,which EZdrummer 2 uses to find anappropriate series of ‘matches’ from itslibrary.You suggest a rhythm byrecording a short two-bar loop, eitherby tapping on an attached MIDIkeyboard, or by clicking on the drum kitelements on the interface. Once you’veinputted your suggestion, EZdrummer 2finds a series of ‘best match’ loopsready for your approval.

Song smithOnce you’ve found a basic loop, you’dexpect to drag-and-drop the MIDI fileover to your DAW, but in EZdrummer 2’scase, we can use its own integral songtrack to piece together a completeperformance. Dragging the loops intothe Song Creator, for example, instructsEX Drummer 2 to create a series ofvariations, covering Intro, Verse, Bridge,Pre Chorus and an Ending, which canthen be organised onto the track lane.Alternatively, drag the various libraryloops onto the song track, assumingyou want a more radical changebetween the sections of the song.

The advantage of keeping the songsequence inside EZdrummer 2 is thatyou get more editing options to refinethe drum phrases in a quick, intuitiveway. Clicking on a region in the tracklane, therefore, lets you edit the MIDI

performance using the kit as a visualguide, rather than having to repositionMIDI notes in a DAW’s Piano Roll editor.For example, the Power Hand lets youre-position the driving force of thepattern (usually the hi-hat) to a newpart of the kit – like the ride cymbal, forexample, or a floor tom. Likewise, anOpening Hit assignment also lets youmark the start of the phrase, usuallywith something like the crash cymbal.

You can also add new additional kitelements into the phrase, as well asadjusting the density and velocity levelon a drum-by-drum basis. For example,selecting one or more toms will addsome tom movement, while you couldtweak the Snare Amount control to addmore ghost notes, and maybe lower itsvelocity slightly for less power on theupbeat.You can also augment thepattern with three percussion sources– clap, shaker and tambourine – again,simply by clicking on, and adjusting therelative icon and its parameter set.

When you’re finished, simply exportthe song as a MIDI file (or drag-and-drop it into your sequencer), or exportas an audio file, assuming you’re usingEZdrummer 2 in its standalone mode.

Sound of the drumsAs you’d expect, the sound of the twokits covers a suitably broad enoughspectrum to make them versatileacross a range of genres.The ModernKit sounds tight and focused, but addsome room ambience and the soundbecomes pleasing looser. Likewise, the

Vintage kit seems softer on itstransients, which when combined somenatural room ambience, really helpsproduce a natural lifelike sound.

Although the mixer offers full controlover the level of each kit elements, youdon’t get the same level of edibilitywhen it comes to the application ofsignal processing. Ultimately,EZdrummer 2 is designed as a tool withimmediacy in mind, and in that respectthe handy macro controls – overcontrols like Dynamics, Reverb Timeand Mic Bleed – provide enough controlwithout getting bogged down in detail.Should you really find the need toprocess sounds using you own choice ofEQ and so on, there’s always the optionof running the individual channels outto discrete outputs in your DAW’s mixer.

An EZ lifeWith so many great sounding virtualdrumming solutions, it’s interesting tosee how much attention is now beingdiverted to the usability and musicalityof the instrument as well as its sonicperformance. Aspects like the Tap 2Find feature, therefore, as well as thepowerful integral sequencing features,really mark EZdrummer 2 out from thecrowd, and certainly offer a host ofintuitive musical possibilities that goabove and beyond what we’ve come toexpect from a virtual drummer. Morethan just an update, EZdrummer 2defines the next generation of virtualdrumming software that many will seekto emulate.MT

MTVerdict

+ Powerful and intuitive virtualdrumming

+ Musical control set+ Nice balance between

contemporary and vintage kits+ Works with previous EZX libraries

- Limited access to internal signalprocessing

The new kits sound great, but it’sthe much-improved browser andflexible internal sequencingfeatures that really setsEZdrummer 2 apart from thecompetition.

9/10

HANDSONRather than simply adapting the existing MIDI data, the Amountparameter ses a special algorithm to either add or subtract notes fromthe existing performance. As such, Amount can be thought of as an‘intelligent’ control, adding additional beats – particu arly ghost notes– that a drummer would play to add density a d movement to thepattern. Even a di g new parts of the kit works in th s way, adap ing theexisting IDI groove in a way the mimics a real performance.

KeyFeaturesNew audioengineImproved groovebrowserAn all-new soundlibrarySong creatorTap 2 Find

The kits inEZdrummer 2offer a wide rangeof sounds for variousgenre types.

MTReviews EZdrummer 2


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U SB MIDI keyboards are avital component of musicproduction setups.You’llspend an inordinate

amount of time using them to inputbeats and melodies into your DAW soit’s important to find one that suits you.

Nektar has been making a name foritself with affordable MIDI controllersthat come with proper DAW integrationfor a ‘plug and play’ experience, which iswhat most people ideally want. Itslatest is the Impact series: a 25-, 49-and 61-key controller. Here we reviewthe 49-key, though the specs of the 61are the same only with more piano keys.

Making an impactThe Impact is USB buss powered andalso sends MIDI down the sameconnection. Round the back things arepretty straightforward, with a USB port,power switch and foot switch/sustainjack pedal input socket. Plug thekeyboard into your Mac or PC and itsprings into life, though to get the mostout of it you will definitely want todownload the DAW installer files to addspecific support for your software ofchoice.This is slightly fiddly, with a fewhoops to jump through on the websiteand you have to register before you canget at the files. Once downloaded youcan install specific support for DigitalPerformer, GarageBand, Logic, Cubase,Nuendo, Reaper, Sonar, Reason and

KeyFeatures49 or 61 velocitysensitive, synthaction keys4velocitycurves,3 fixedPitch bend,mod, octaveand transposecontrolsOptional footswitch input8 pads with NoteLearn8 pots, 9 faders,9 buttonsTransportcontrolsInstallers for allmajor DAWs

DetailsKit Impact LX 49 / 61Manufacturer NektarPriceImpact LX25: £89.99Impact LX49: £109.99Impact LX61: £139.99Distributor NektarContact via websiteWeb www.nektartech.com

Studio One.The keyboard actuallycomes with a copy of Studio One Artiston disc, and there’s the option todownload it from Presonus’ websiteafter registration, for owners of newercomputers that lack optical drives.

The keyboard itself has full size,velocity sensitive and semi-weightedkeys which offer a good combination ofplayability and portability.They feelresponsive and realistic enough forpiano or synth-style playing but withoutmaking the unit as a whole overly heavy.There are four selectable velocitycurves available as well as three fixedcurves, and the regulation pitch-bendand modulation wheels.To the left ofthe keyboard are quick octave andtranspose buttons, very useful forchanging settings mid-performancewithout having to dig around in any submenus to find the controls.Thesebuttons can actually have their functionaltered to send out program changemessages, change the global MIDIchannel or select one of the five userpresets so they’re more flexible thanthey appear at first glance.

Pad controlOver to the right of the front panel areeight velocity-sensitive pads which canbe assigned any MIDI note number or ccmessage and can thus be used both forplaying and as toggle buttons. A PadLearn mode lets you choose a pad, playa note on the keyboard and link the two,and four pad maps can be stored onboard.There are eight variable knobs totweak parameters and there’s a set oftransport controls that doubles up withother functions like set L and R locators,Undo and Click on/off when combinedwith the Shift button. Visual feedback isvia a simple but serviceable LED screen.

To the left is a bank of nine fadersand buttons which are generally usedfor mixing in your DAW and, indeed,pressing the Mixer button from thecentral area should assign these, withthe Bank buttons letting you scrollaround the mixer.The pots becomepanner controls in this mode and theninth fader is always assigned to thecurrently selected channel, a helpful

touch. Further controls in the centreinclude an Instrument button to call upthe GUI of the currently selectedsoftware instrument, track navigationand patch selection buttons.

Impact?We tested the Impact 49 with Logic,Cubase and Reason on the Mac and, onthe whole, it was picked up as expectedafter installing the support files and theshortcut buttons like Mixer. Instrumentand patch and bank selection also didwhat they were supposed to do. It mightsound odd to claim this as a victory, butMIDI mapping can be a notoriously flakything. Luckily here it’s not, and Nektarhas done a great job of matching thehardware controls to the software.Youcan set up your own custom controlsand maps, of course, and these areremembered even when the unit ispowered off. As ever with basic screens,there’s the occasional bit of guessworkas to what you’re looking at but it’s notexactly the end of the world and overallthis is a solid workhorse of a MIDIcontroller that will be at home in anymusic production setup.MT

AlternativesNovation’s SL49 at £319 (street price) is moreexpensive but has a similar set of hardwarecontrols.One of the major differences is in itslevel of visua feedback w ich is much more

etailed,meaning that setting parameterson h ngs like software instruments is moreprecise,if that’s something that partic larlysuits your workflow.

NEKTARImpact LX49MIDIcontrolisastapleofanymodernmusicproductionenvironment.HollinJonesroadteststhenewNektarImpactLX49/61…

MTVerdict

+ Solid, workhorse MIDI controller+ Good synth key action+ USB powered+ Good selection of real-time

controls+ Well integrated with leading

DAWs+ Some user customization

available+ Affordable+ Good build quality

- Visual feedback a little basic- Obtaining installer could be

slightly easier- No hardware MIDI ports for

incorporating external gear

A straightforward and affordableMIDI controller with good buildquality and crucially, tight DAWintegration for easier control.

8/10

£Value


Nektar Impact LX49 ReviewsMT


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We first saw the Console 1over a year ago, atMusikmesse 2013, andthe concept was creating

quite a lot of buzz around the halls.Since then Softube has been hard atwork refining and perfecting theConsole 1, ready for release.

Unlike most control surfaces theConsole 1 does not use a variation ofMIDI, such as HUI, to control your DAWand plug-ins. In fact, it doesn’t evenattempt to control your DAW andplug-ins at all. Instead the Console 1 isdesigned only to control its own plug-in.However, the Console 1 plug-in is acomplete channel-strip designed to beplaced as an insert on all your channels,enabling you to perform your entire mixfrom the Console 1 hardware, withouthaving to resort to mouse or keyboard.

Console actionThe plug-in itself is slightly unusual inthat the plug-in window only showssome very basic controls – the channelnumber and a solo safe button.You canshow the state of parameters from theplug-in window, but it’s a bit small andfiddly. Instead, Console 1 has a separate

unique GUI layer, which pops up takingover the whole screen showing all theparameters.This can be resized, forexample, to the size of your otherplug-ins so you can show severalsimultaneously. We did find that if youclick on the GUI at any point then yourDAW is no longer the active application,and so your key commands no longerwork – including even basic controls

like start/stop.Thankfully, you shouldnever have much call to click on this GUIas all controls can be accessed fromthe hardware. Furthermore, it isn’tstrictly necessary to have the GUI openat all, as there is some visual feedbackon the hardware. Our favourite way towork, once we’d got used to the Console1 was with the display in Auto mode –this mode shows and hides the GUIlayer automatically whenever you alter

Softubehaslaunchedahybridhardware/softwaremixingsystem.MikeHillierfindsoutifthisis‘theone’…

a parameter on the hardware, or pushone of the buttons. It is a shame thecontrols aren’t touch sensitive, as youhave to start twisting a knob, or push abutton to bring up the GUI, but you canjust press the Display button, whichdoesn’t affect any of the parameters.

Along the top of the controller are aseries of buttons, 1 through 20, that areused to switch the controller from onechannel to the next. Whichever channelis active here is the channel that thecontroller will be assigned to, not theactive plug-in in your DAW.This can geta little confusing at first, but soonbecomes second nature.

It’s not always easy to know whatinstrument is on what numbered

channel, so Console 1 enables you toname your channels in the plug-in.

This means typing in the name ofeach channel a second time(assuming you’ve named all your

channels in your DAW – you have,haven’t you?).The exception to this is inPresonus Studio One 2, and soon inCubase and Nuendo, where the DAWprovides the name to the Console 1plug-in, saving you the time. Softubetell us they hope to roll out thisfunctionality to more DAWs, but thisrequires changes to be made to theDAW software as well as the Console 1software, so is dependent on the DAWdesigners as much as it is to Softube.

A walk down the stripConsole 1 has five primary sections,first an input section which has aninput gain, high- and low-pass filters,and polarity switch.This then feeds theShape, EQ and Compressor sections,and finally into an output stage whichhas Drive controls, pan/balance,volume and solo/mute switches.This is

a fairly comprehensive channel-strip,and the Console 1 even enables you toroute the filters to only the dynamicsside-chain and not the direct signal,and to change the processing order,placing the EQ before, between, or afterthe Shape and Compressor modules.

The console strip in Console 1 isbased on an SSL 4000 E studio console,but modules can be swapped out forany of Softube’s other EQ and dynamics

BasedontheSSL4000E,thereisn’t truelike-for-likefunctionality– itdoesmore…

SOFTUBEConsole 1

DetailsManufacturerSoftubePrice $1149Contact [email protected] SystemRequirementsPCWindows support tocomeMacMac OSX 10.7, VST,AU or AAX host (32 or64-bit), spare USB 2.0port, 1200x800 screenresolution

KeyFeaturesUSB controlsurfaceSSL 4000 Echannel stripemulationTransient shaper

Softube Console 1 ReviewsMT


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modules. Unlike the other moduleshowever, the SSL E channel-strip won’tbe available outside of Console 1. Whilebased on the SSL 4000 E, there isn’ttrue like-for-like functionality and inmost cases there is actually greaterfunctionality in the Console 1 than in atrue SSL 4000 E channel-strip.TheShape module, for example, misses therange knob of the SSL 4000 gate,doesn’t have the fast-attack option, andprovides soft- and hard-knee modesinstead of the hardware’s ‘Expand’ and‘Gate’ modes which change the ratio.But it also adds a transient shaper,which is unique to Softube, and makesup for the missing gate features.

The EQ is based on the E 242 ‘blackknob’ EQ module which was developedin 1983 with Sir George Martin for hisSSL console at AIR studios.The 242 EQis known for its aggressive tonalcontrols, with plenty of available gain,and steep filtering.This is the EQ designthat SSL continues to use on itsE-Series EQ modules.The Console 1captures the aggression of these curvesfantastically, and even enables you toswitch the high- and low-bands intoadditional filters, which can be very

filters for keying the sidechain – againan option not available on the original.

The compressor section includes amix knob, enabling you to achieve quickparallel compression without the needfor additional channels – again afeature not present on the originalconsoles.The SSL channel compressoris a fantastic and versatile tool, whichcan be used to tame almost anyincoming signal. With a low ratio andslow attack it can be almost completelytransparent, but increase the attackand you can get some very aggressivecompression. On stereo channels thecompressor doesn’t quite have the gluethat the later G-series compressor wasfamous for, but it has a similar vibe, andmixing into the Console 1 across yourdrums buss can get them soundingpunchy with very little compression onany individual channels.

To emulate the harmonics andnon-linearities of the SSL 4000 Econsoles, Console 1 has additionalDrive and Character controls on theoutput section. Pushing the Drivecontrol emulates driving the line-ampsof the SSL console hard, while theCharacter control changes the tonal

AlternativesThe Console 1 brings a unique hybrid approach to mixing, but you can getgreat results by using any hardware controller.The Avid MC Control isone of the most advanced, using the EuCon protocol rather than a MIDIbased system, such as HUI. But HUI systems shouldn’t be overlooked,a d the newly announced Behringer X ouch is certainly one to consider.

MTVerdict

+ Great tactile response+ SSL 4000 E emulation+ Expands with Softube plug-ins+ Great transient shaper built-in

- Time consuming to set up- Limited to Softube plug-ins- Limited to EQ and dynamics- No fader

Softube has developed aninteresting and fun to use mixingcontroller, putting the most usedcontrols back at your fingertips.

8/10

characteristics of this Drive distortion,from bassier distortions to one end andmore high-end distortions to the other.

Fingers on the buzzerOur initial experiences with the Console1 left us a little perplexed as to whySoftube had chosen such a tough route,designing a controller that used its ownapplication layer, rather than just asimple MIDI controller designed for theplug-in. But as we got a few mixesunder out belt with this system, thecontroller become a part of ourworkflow.The initial set up is a littlefiddly, but this should get better overtime as more DAWs support the systemdirectly, and once you’re set up and thesoftware is on every channel. Itbecomes much more like mixing on areal console.You don’t notice the screenas much, and you get used to switchingthe channel on the Console 1 hardwareand just working, without ever letting goto use the keyboard/mouse, except forthe odd additional plug-in – much asyou might work with a real console,adding occasional plug-ins to your mixas and when you need them.

Automating becomes simpler as youcan now grab a bunch of controlssimultaneously and draw in yourautomation, straight to your DAW – thebest of all worlds.The addition of afader instead of the output volumeknob might have made the Console 1 alittle more like the real thing, especiallyfor automating levels, but we’re happyusing the it alongside our existingcontrollers to bring a little extrahands-on depth, without the physicalspace required for a full console.MT

After working for some time with Console 1,it became much like using a real mixing console with youbecoming less reliant on the computer screen and just working with the hardware – no bad thing…

MTReviews Softube Console 1


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http://www.synthax.co.uk

mailto:[email protected]



We recently took a look atAllen & Heath’s Qu-16mixer and were veryimpressed with the

sound, features and workflow of theconsole. Following quickly in theQu-16’s footsteps is the new Qu-24 –a 24-channel version of the consoleboasting 24 analogue mono inputs,three analogue stereo inputs and astaggering 24 analogue outputs, plusan additional talkback mic input andAES, USB and dSnake digital outputs.

The layout on the top panel is similarto the Qu-16, with the same 800x480touchscreen and the ‘SuperStrip’section providing access to all the mainparameters for the active channel withone knob for each parameter. However,the Qu-24 has not been constrained bythe decision to fit the console into a 19”rack like the Qu-24, so there is a littlemore room on the top panel and Allen &Heath has even included a blank spacewith a small lip, which could be used forstoring notes or an iPad running theQu-Pad control software.

The similarity in design makes it veryeasy for anyone who has used theQu-16 to quickly move up to a Qu-24and get working with no need to learnnew skills.The SuperStrip is well laidout with plenty of space between theknobs, so there’s little to no risk ofaccidentally knocking the wrong knob.

The well lit on/off buttons showingwhich parts of the strip are in use onthe active channel make it very easy touse, even in a dark environment withouta lamp – although, it becomesimpossible to read any of the markingson the panel, so unless you alreadyknow what every knob does we’dsuggest you get a lamp.Thankfully theQu-24 already has a dedicated 4-pinXLR lamp socket on the rear, ready foruse with compatible gooseneck lamps.

Working fastOnce you’re into a live mix, theSuperStrip approach to the built-ineffects is a great and really fast way ofworking, enabling you to quickly set thegain, pan, high-pass filter cut-off, EQ,and compression- and gate-thresholds.You can make quick adjustments on thefly, but for power-users this will be quitelimiting – especially on the compressorand gate sections.To delve deeper onehas to use the touchscreen and thesingle multi-function rotary encoder.This encoder will automatically take

FollowingonfromtheQu-16,Allen&HeathhasexpandedtherangewiththeQu-24.MikeHillierstepsup.

control of whatever function has beentargeted with the touchscreen. So tochange the compression ratio, you firstselect the channel you want to alter,then on the touchscreen select thecompressor and highlight the ratio,giving control to the encoder.To changethe attack and release, push on theattack and release parameters on thescreen and the multi-function encoderswitches to those. Switch to the gateattack by selecting the gate on thetouchscreen and then the attackparameter.This can be a little slow andfiddly to set up, but once you’ve goteverything how you want it, the onlyparameter you’ll likely want to alteragain will be the threshold, which isalways accessible from the SuperStrip.If you compare this to having to workwith dozens of racks of outboard gear,

remembering where each channel ispatched in, it is simpler and faster.

Their are four different compressormodes built into the compressormodule.The first two are manualmodes: Manual Peak and Manual RMS.Manual Peak responds to transientswhich cross the threshold and can beused in a similar fashion to a brickwalllimiter when set with a high ratio andfast attack and release settings.Manual RMS responds to the averagelevel and is more useful as a moderatechannel compressor.The Manual RMS

Comparethistoworkingwithdozensofracksofoutboardanditissimplerandfaster

KeyFeatures24 mono inputs3 stereo inputs4 iLive stereo FXengines800x480touchscreenMultitrack recordover USBDAW MIDI controlRecallableautomated fadersiPad app

DetailsManufacturerAllen & HeathPrice £2,199Contact AudioTechnica0113 277 1441Web www.allen-heath.com

/1ChoiceALLEN & HEATH

Qu-24

Allen & Heath Qu-24 ReviewsMT


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is the default compressor on eachchannel.The remaining two modeshave automatic attack and releasecharacteristics.The Auto Slow Optobehaves like an optical compressor,with slow attack and releasecharacteristics and was a favourite ofours on live vocals, enabling us to get aconsistent vocal sound from oursystem.The final mode is the AutoPunchbag which has a faster, VCA-like,

auto response – a good starting pointwith drums for users not overly familiarwith attack and release settings whowant to avoid the two manual modes.

Effects optionsThe FX engine in the Qu-24 has fourslots where you can place send effects.There are a wide range of effects tochoose from for each slot, including avariety of reverbs, delays andmodulation effects.The effectsthemselves sound fantastic, with plentyof options for manipulation and there iseven a graphic EQ after each one on thechannel return for tuning your effects.However, setting up the effects can geta little tricky as you must first switchthe faders from controlling the levelgoing to the LR Master buss to the FXbuss.This will bring all the faders downand you can now use the faders asSend controls going to the FX buss.You

must then turn up the Master fader forthis FX buss, which controls the overallFX send, and then switch the faders toshow the second layer to turn up the FXreturn. Staying on top of all of this canbe quite time-consuming, making itawkward to quickly mute the effects atthe end of a song while the artist talksto the crowd.

Alternatively, you can patch someeffects to a specific channel, avoiding

the whole Send set up scenario, or youcan patch an effect as a direct insert,but neither of these provides a goodsolution to muting effects betweensongs. A master FX Mute switch wouldbe a much better solution.

To get around this limitation theQu-24 has four Mute groups to whichany channel, effects send or return orstereo group can be assigned. Mutingthe group is then done from the Homescreen using the touchscreen. However,in practice, we never leave the Qu-24 onthe Home screen and so this processwould still involve several buttonpresses. Instead we assigned the firstfour SoftKeys to the four Mute Groups,creating four instantMute buttons on thefront panel, with

all our FX Sends assigned to the firstMute Group.

Stuck in the boxOne of the flaws in the design of theQu-24, like the Qu-16, is the lack ofanalogue insert points.The built-ineffects engine replace the need forinsert points, and on the smaller Qu-16we would see that as a logicalassumption, but on the larger Qu-24 it’sa notable oversight. And owners with anexisting investment in outboardhardware won’t necessarily want toreplace it all with the built-in digitaleffects engine, no matter how good it is.Outboard send effects can be used byusing up one or more of the 10 mix outs,but it would be nice to place your ownEQ and compression across an insert.

Other than this, though, the Qu-24 isan incredible desk and one we hopefind its way into small- to medium-sized venues. It’s not as intuitive as ananalogue console, but all the extrafeatures and the fairly fast learningcurve mean that it will be a hugeimprovement in the sonic quality ofperformances in these sized venuesover much of the competition.MT

AlternativesFor smaller venuesand personal rigsthe Allen & HeathQu-16 we looked atin MTM 133 is agreat console,withmany of thefeatures of theQu-24,but only16-inputs.TheBehringer X32 hasproven incrediblypopular since itslaunch with manysimilar features,and a history whichtakes in Behringer’srecent purchase ofMidas.

MTVerdict

+ 24 mic inputs+ iLive digital effects+ EQ and Dynamics on every

channel+ 800x480 touchscreen+ iPad app

- Limited dynamics control- Control of one channel at a time- No inserts

The Qu-24 looks set to quicklybecome a favourite small venuelive console.

9/10

Around the back of the Qu-24 we see it is jam-packed with connections.There are 24 analogue mono inputs,three analoguestereo ins and 24 analogue outs.Also notable on the desk are the talkback mic in and AES,USB and dSnake digital outputs.

Theeffectsthemselvessoundfantasticbutsettingthemupcanbealittletricky…

Allen & Heath Qu-24 ReviewsMT


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Having created some of thefinest sample-basedorchestral instruments of thelast 10 years, ProjectSAM has

an enviable reputation at delivering atruly cinematic sound, arguably bestencapsulated in the company’sexcellent Symphobia series. However,none of the Symphobia instrumentshave been particularly affordable, butthe Symphobia Colours series changesthis by offering smaller, more focusedlibraries that build on the conceptsdeveloped throughout the originals.

The OrchestratorSymphobia Colours includes twoinstruments: Orchestrator, on test here,and Animator, which we’ll look at in afuture issue. With both, the scope issmaller than we’re used to and focuseson a particular technique or facet of theorchestral sound palette. InOrchestrator’s case, the concept isfirmly on legato chords – sampled withstrings and choir, and wind and brasscombinations – alongside othervalue-added content (some portedfrom the original Symphobia series)that helps extend the musical potential.

Monophonic ‘true legato’ should be a

familiar concept to any musiciansworking with orchestral samples, butthe possibilities of legato chords maybe a new experience. With monophoniclines, a true legato instrument uses atransitional sample to move from onenote to the next, capturing the realisticportamento-like effect as one noteslides to the next. With chords, theconcept is similar, but here ProjectSAMhas sampled the transition from a C toan F, for example, or from Am to Fm.

Symphonic chordsThe concept and sound of Orchestratoris immediately apparent.The keyboardis divided between major chords acrossone octave and minor chords in another– simply move between the appropriatesingle notes and Orchestrator willproduce a smooth, sumptuoustransition between the different chords.The Mod Wheel can be used to adddynamic movement (great for acrescendo and diminuendo over thelength of the chord) and you can alsomove between three differentmicrophones sets to change theperspective of the orchestra.

You also get a collection of legatodouble basses, plus various non-legato

ProjectSAM’snewSymphobiaColoursseriestakesamoreaffordable,focusedapproachtocinematicsampling.MarkCousinsmeetstheOrchestrator…

sustains, chords and staccatos that canbe accessed as individual instruments,or as part of an impressive collection ofmulti instruments.These demonstratethe full symphonic potential, creating afull orchestral sound palette, withdynamics from just a single pass on akeyboard. If you’ve experienced any ofthe excellent multis found in Lumina,you’ll know what to expect.

Easy OrchestraAs with many of these orchestrallibraries, there’s a balance to strikebetween some ingenious sampling thatdelivers hyper-realistic results, and atool that confines and restricts yourmusical creativity. In some respects,Orchestrator is somewhat prescriptivein the result it creates – with aspectslike the chord voicing and instrumentselection somewhat defined for you. Itmight have been nice to have stringsseparate from choir, although thecombination of wind and brass iscertainly a nice pairing with plenty ofmusical potential! There’s little doubtthat Orchestrator can deliver excellentresults, with the performance legatosreally adding to the realism.There arealso some great serendipitous resultsto be had when playing Orchestrator’schords in a free-form way.

Ultimately, Orchestrator forms partof a palette of tools and techniques,something that enhances and expandsan existing orchestral soundstage,rather than a one-stop-shop for theentirety of your composition process.MT

SYMPHOBIAOrchestrator

DetailsManufacturerProjectSAMPrice £169Contact Time + Space01837 55200Webwww.projectsam.comRequirementsKontakt 5.3 orKontakt Player 5.3requires OS X 10.7or higher (Mac) orWindows 7 or 8

AlternativesCinesample’s CineOrch ($99) offers arange of sampled chords,Tutti oc avesand so on, although importantly, itshould be noted that none ave beensample with the legato technique used in Orchestrator. Ignoring thelack of legato, though, it’s sti l a usable library t at ets you fill out anorchestral soundstage with minimal ef ort.

MTVerdict

+ Fantastic ‘true legato’ chords+ Expressive dynamics+ Full symphonic sound in one pass+ Flexible mic sets

- Prescriptive voicing- Strings and choir combined- Some content ported from

Symphobia

A unique application of the legatoconcept applied on chords –Orchestrator creates a deep andexpressive symphonic sound withrelatively little effort.

8/10

KeyFeaturesOrchestratedmajor and minorchordsRecorded for 2ensemblesDoublebasses & choirbasses ´DarkBasses´ legatoinstrument3-Layer modwheel dynamicsBonus tremolochords, flageoletsustains andstaccatoinstruments

For PC& Mac


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ReviewsMT


Manufacturer Loopmasters

Price £29.95 (download)

Contact [email protected]

Web www.loopmasters.com

The latest artist pack fromLoopmasters sees producerChris Octane delve into thedarkest recesses of his studio

for a unique collection of twisted neurobass lines, glitched-out drum andbass-style breaks, and moody pads,leads and fx.

There’s around 1GB worth of loopsand hits, presented in Wav, Apple Loopsand REX2 formats, with other optionsalso available from the Loopmasterswebsite. Most of the loops are dividedinto bass, breaks, music, and percfolders, with a further folder containing10 construction kits of short tracks anddrum ideas. From the off, it’s clear tosee that Octane is a bit of a scientistwhen it comes to production and sounddesign, as every loop and sound ismeticulously worked over and crafted.The bass loops are particularlyimpressive, with unique and warpedriffs in constant movement and

,effects to give maximum impactthrough the speakers. Some also haveseparate layers alongside the full bassloop, which gives an interesting insightinto the production process. On to thedrum and percussion loops and there’sa surprising amount of variety, from140bpm glitch dubstep grooves, tofaster 170bpm live breaks, with plentyof original and quirky rhythms andsounds thrown into the mix. Also ofinterest are the music loops thatcombine deeply spooky and eerily

beautiful pads, with more snarling andraspy synth lines.

Alongside the loops you’ll find alarge collection of bass and lead hitsand multisamples, plus fx, percussion,and a superb folder of crunchy andinterestingly-processed drum hits.There are plenty of rhythmic variationson the same bass and lead sounds,which offer an easy way to craftcomplex neuro bass patterns. However,at times, as with the rest of the pack, wefound some of the sounds to be a littletoo complex and evolving, arguablymaking it hard to process further andmake your own.

Although the unique programmingand heavy processing in this pack mayprove a little too off-the-wall for someusers, this is the very definition ofcutting-edge production.MT

MTVerdict

Occasionally overly complex but,overall, a dark and originalmasterclass of exquisiteproduction and inspiring hard-edged sounds and loops.

9/10

KeyFeaturesBreaks, bass,music loopsDrum/inst hits,121 patches24-bit Wav,Apple Loopsand REX2, orLive and ReFill

1Choice

Innovation

MUSIC TECH MAGAZINEwww.musictech.netAnthem Publishing LtdSuite 6 Piccadilly HouseLondon Road Bath BA1 6 LTe +44 (0) 1225 489984Fax +44 (0) 1225 489980

Publisher Simon [email protected] Director Paul Pettengalepaul.pettengale@ant em-publ shing.comSenior Ed tor Andy Jonesandy.jones@ant em-publ s ing.comArt Editor Kai [email protected] Editor Andy [email protected] ‘Nice Andy’ SaundersMultimedia Editor Alex Holmesalex.hol es@anthem-pub ish ng. omBusiness Developmen a agerDi Marshdi. arsh@ant em-publ s ing.coMarketing Manager Alex Godfreyalex.godfrey@anthe -p blishi g.comMarketi g Assista Ka e Doylekate.doyle@a the - blishing.co

The Experts (see p3)Rob Boffard, ark o sins, KeithGe mell, im allas, Mik i lier, HollinJo es, And c ug l , J h ck or ,H Price, Liam O’Mul ane

Cover Image iSt c h to

a a i g Direc r J n B ckleyjo . ickley@anthem-p blis ing.com

Ar Director en Cookje ny.coo ant em- l s g.co

S b ript o s & Bac Issuesel 844 844 98 )el 4 ( )17 5 2 49 over eas)

Pr ce ( ss es 4.9asic an ual rate

Pri ted y o es ar UK Pr Limited( )1 2 67 0

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fac rer i r t r . oa l ti r ced,t r i tr e l e r so d

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MTReviews


MTReviews What our ratings mean

Let’s be honest– this productis,at the veryleast,the bestin its class.

Attractivelypriced as wellas capable ofdeliveringgreat results.

A very goodproduct – onethat we wouldsingle out.

Indicates a stepforward in theimplementationor application ofa technology.

Manufacturer Prime Loops

Price £14.95 (download)

Contact via website

Web www.primeloops.com

With such a large amount ofmusic around, it can bedifficult to stand out withoriginal tracks. One

solution is to ditch or supplementtraditional drums with more esotericsound effects to craft unique grooves.Unusual Percussion Samples fromPrime Loops serves up a library of over200 found sound loops and hits, withover 200MB worth of audio.

Everything is played in live, with thepercussion loops divided into folders ofbox, bucket, computer case, flower pot,keys, lamp, shoes, stapler, suitcase, andother. Most of the grooves themselvesare fairly short and simple, but thereare generally several variations on each

Manufacturer Sonic Academy

Price £34.99 3 months £99.99 one year

Contact [email protected]

Web www.sonicacademy.com

Trance is a genre that’s existedsince the early 90s which hasevolved in many ways.Trance2.0 covers the more popular yet

still credible sound of today’s tranceand the track being produced in theseries is on par with current releases.

A collection of five free videos calledRewinds are available to all that coverthe basic aspects of starting a track.These track ideas are then expanded inthe subscriber-only videos.

The series is presented by PhilJohnston and Chris Agnelli who do agood job of presenting their sessions ina radio show type of way. Phil takes thehands-on control of engineering whileChris presents and probes Phil for morein-depth details on techniques. Bothtutors are clearly experienced inproducing this style of music which isreflected in the working methods onshow, their reflection on what needs tobe done and the final level of quality.

All of the Rewind videos take theapproach of analysing a handful ofrespectable commercial releases and

‘instrument’ so you’llrobably end up chopping

things up and combiningpatterns.You can expect tofind conga style groovesplayed on the bucket, boxand suitcase; pitchedsounds on flower pots andlamps; and some superbalternatives to yourstandard shaker ortambourine played using akeys and a stapler! There

are also some great industrial-sounding rhythms pounded out on acomputer case, which could be good forcomposers looking for something alittle different for an action scene cue.

As mentioned you may have to getcreative if you want to extend the shortloops out into full tracks. Most havebeen recorded with a little ambience fora live feel, although you could remove

then s ow you ow to create s m ar.Ableton Live projects are included

but rely heavily on plug-ins, so a user’sexperience will vary on how usefulthese are. Drums, bass, pads, leads andSFX are all covered here at a basic, buthigh standard level of production.

The main 2.0 videos go into moredetail and explain the aspects neededfor creating a full arrangement.There’stime spent auditioning keys, soundsand ideas to make sure each decision isthe right one for the track beingcreated. With guide vocal creation,mixing, mastering, and then a secondmixdown being covered in-depth, this isa great educational package for anyonetrying to nail the 2.0 sound.MT

Trance 2.0

EXCELLENCE AWARD 10/10The best in its class.This product produces superb results, is wellimplemented and sensibly priced.

CHOICE AWARD 9/10This product comes highly recommended and has an effectivebalance of features and performance.

8/10A recommended product with features, performance and pricingthat meets the needs of its target market.

7/10A good product but with one or two question marks over ease ofuse or price.

6/10This product has merit, but some improvements or a morecompetitive price would bring it closer to its target market.

5/10Certain oversights in this product’s design and performance couldlimit its usefulness.

4/10Buyer beware: this is a sliding scale of poor quality, overpricingand/or disappointing performance.

OURREVIEWSPOLICYAt MT we take our reviews very seriously indeed. We aim to offeryou nothing but the best information and expert op nion,helpingyou to make t e right purchasing dec sions.Our reviewers areexperts in t eir field and talk to the manufacturers throughout thereviewing process to ens re accuracy.

this with a transient/envelope plug-in.The playing is slightly sloppy in

places, which again adds to the organicfeel, but you may want to use quantiseif you’re writing tighter-sounding tracks.You’ll also find a small handful ofheavily-effected versions, but this isn’treally explored in any real depth. Finally,there’s a folder of excellent one-shots toplay in your own unique rhythms.

This is a simple but excellent valuepack that could be used to spice up avariety of genres. If your tracks aresounding a little too obvious, then thiscould be just the ticket to inject somesubtle originality.MT

Excellence

Value

Choice

Innovation

MTVerdict

A useful collection of organicsounding loops and hits that couldbe used in the place of moretraditional percussion or druminstruments to add a lot of interestto your tracks.

8/10

MTVerdict

A well-presented and technique-filled series with emphasis on howto use specific techniques forcreating Trance 2.0.

10/10

Unusual Percussion Samples

KeyFeaturesOver 200MB200 loops andone-shotsAcid Wav, AppleLoops, REX2,Live and ReFill

£Value

Excellence


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EVERYWHEREUR

24-bit/192 kHz USB 2.0 audio interface with 6x4 analog I/O and MIDI

4 Class-A D-PRE mic preamps

Rugged full-metal casing for ultimate durability

Latency-free DSP-powered monitoring with effects

Cross-platform compatibility with Mac OS X and Windows, runs with iPad www.steinberg.net/ur44WorldMags.netWorldMags.net

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Welcome to June’s MusicTech DVD.We’ve got amassive pack of cutting-edge bass hits, trancekits and an eclectic mix of Loopmasters samples.There are also pro videos, the latest demos, andworkshop files to go with this month’s tutorials.YourDisc

SAMPLESHITS//ROYALTY FREE& EXCLUSIVE

//TRANCEDRUMKIT

//SOFTWARE

Size 62MBFormat 16-bit/44.1kHzWAVThis month’s exclusive free sample pack from

Equinox Sounds comes in the form of 300 top-notchone-shot drum samples for producing all types oftrance music, with folders of claps, snares, kicks,cymbals, hats and percussion, all in 16-bit, 44.1 kHzquality. Many of the claps and snares are tight andhard with heavily-compressed hits, and the kickshave a punchy sound to cut through the mix. Thereare several effected hits to add interest. All soundscan be easily loaded into your sampler or mixed andmatched to build the ultimate trance drum patches.Webwww.equinoxsounds.com

DVD135 4GB+PC&Mac

NATIVE INSTRUMENTSSUPERCHARGERGT(Windows,MacOSX)Compressor plug-in inspired by

the tube-driven sound of

boutique hardware. Dedicated

saturationmodes allow for fine

tuning warm sounds.

www.native-instruments.com

SERANOHORUS(Windows,MacOSX)Create inspiring pads with this poly synth, string-

machine instrument. Features include four oscillators,

64-voice polyphony, chorus, phaser, auto-wah, stereo

delay, static formant filter and low-pass filter, LFO, and

full MIDI learn.. http://bserrano.free.frNATIVE INSTRUMENTSMOLEKULAR

(Windows,MacOSX)A complex,modularmulti-effects

system for Reaktor 5 and 5 Player

with 35 creative, futuristic effects

(delay, stutter, glitch, resonator,

flanger, chorus, andmore), 16mod

sources, routing and amorphing field.

www.native-instruments.com

SINEVIBESHEXONATOR(Windows,MacOSX)

A unique spectral effect built on six tuned resonators for

creating organicmelodic textures, chord progressions, or

ambient drones from any signal source. It also includes a

multi-mode filter, chord sequencer with up to 32 steps, and two

modulators withmultiple waveforms and adjustable chaos.

EMBERTONECANJO(Windows,MacOSX requires Kontakt 4.2.4+)

Create beautiful pluckedmelodies or rich cinematic

ambienceswith this unique, sampled string instrument for

Kontakt.Canjo can be playedwithmuted, fingered and

picked styles,with flexible articulation control and a

powerful arpeggiator.www.embertone.com

SAMPLEHITS//ROYALTY FREE& EXCLUSIVE

VIDEOFEATURE//70MINS+

DEMO//SOFTWARE

DEMO//SOFTWARE

FULL//SOFTWARE

FULL//SOF WARE

Size 68MBFormat 24-bit/44.1kHzWAV,EXS24,NN-XT, Kontakt, Structure

It’s interesting to witness how things changen both electronicmusic as certain stylescome in and out of fashion.We’ve noticed adefinitemove from sustained bass sounds tomore hard and percussive hits so samplemaestro Richard James has concocted acollection of 215 percussive bass hits: fromgarage organ style hits, and dark dissonantstrikes, tomore obviously pitched, hard-edged synth hits, perfect for heavy technotracks or EDM. A large range of soft synthsand post processing was used tomake sureeach soundwill sit perfectly in themix.

DEMO//SOFTWARE

//BASSSTABS&HITS

Size 783MBFormatMOV,WAV,MP3We have got a bumper selection of promotional video and

audio so you can see and hear the latest kit in action. There’s thehigh-end SSL Sigma analogue summing box (see next issue forthe review), Elektron’s polyphonic Analog Keys, and UniversalAudio’s compact and affordable Apollo Twin interface with Unisonamp emulation technology. You’ll also find videos showing ArturiaKeylab, PreSonus Eris Monitors (next issue), ToontrackEZdrummer 2, VSL Dimension Strings, and the latest orchestrallibraries from ProjectSAM. Plus we have audio demos ofGarritan’s new Abbey Road Studios CFX Concert Grand Piano,and Native Instruments Supercharger GT compressor/saturator.


MT Your Disc

SSL SIGMA,UAD APOLLO


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//OCTANEDNB,DISCOBEATS&MORE

Size 1.77 GB FormatMOVNorwegian Producer Todd Terje has been

producing masterful summer disco jams for over10 years. The good people at Point BlankMusicSchool have seen fit to deconstruct his excellentDelorean Dynamite track, using Ableton Live torebuild its constituent parts. Plus we have course tutor SkiOakenfold offering up tips for vocal comping in Logic X, and an in-depthlook at the complex newmodular effects plug-in from Native Instruments,Molekular. As ever, for best performance, be sure to copy all the videos toyour hard drive before viewing.Webwww.pointblanklondon.com

VIDEOTUTORIALS//1.5HRS+

Size 739MBFormatMOVAnother Loop+ helping of studio know-how. Dance

producer Dom Kane looks around BitWig and Rob Jonespresents a break down of the BIGKICK plug-in fromPluginBoutique.com. For Ableton users, certified trainerKeith Mills offers some nifty tips for creatingatmospheric FX in Live, plus producer Dan Larsson talksabout his new Ableton Operator preset collection. Finally,trailers for Niche Audio’s PrimaTechMaschine and Livepack, and for BIGKICK from PluginBoutique.com.Webwww.loopmasters.com/loopplus/

VIDEOFEATURE//35 MINS

//BITWIG&FXINLIVE

SAMPLELOOPS//ROYALTY-FREESize 218MBFormat 24bit/44.1 kHzWAVAn eclectic bunch of free instrument, vocal, beats

and bass samples from Loopmasters latest and greatestreleases. There are dark and mysterious pads andpunishing drum and bass breaks and synths courtesy ofproducer Octane and his Drum&Bass Core pack. You’llfind shimmering neon melodies and chilled beats takenfrom Atalanta Chill 2, and Underground City FX, anddubbed out Latin-American rhythms and synths from NuCumbria. And finally, live and electronic drums takenfrom Live Disco Electro Beats, and a mix of male andfemale, lead and backing vocals from Iconical VocalAcapellas 3.Webwww.loopmasters.com

DVD1335 44GGGBBB+++PCC&&MaMaacc

SAMPLEHITS///ROYALTLTY FREEE && EXCLCLUSU IVVVVIVVEEEEEEEEEEEE

Hundreds of dark bass hhitsand synth stabs perfectt forhouse, techno and EDMM


VIDV EOOTUTTUTT TORIORIO ALSALSALL //// 353533 MINMINMMINSSS

////TODDD TERJJEEDDEECCONSTTRRUUCCTTTEEDD

/////222211555MMMMBBBB DDDDNNNNNNBBBBBBB,,,, DIISSCCCOOOO AAAANNNNNDDDDDD MMMMMMOOOOORRRRREEE

,,////300// TRANCEKITTSAMPLESVIDEOTUTORIALS////1.5HRSH +

SAMPLEESSLOOLO PSPS//ROYRRROYALTALTYYY FREFREEE

////BBBIIITTTWWWWIIGGGGGG&&&&&FFFFXXXXXIINNNAAABBBBBLLLLEEEEETTTTTOOOOOONNNNNLLLLIIVVVEEE

PLPLUSUSUSS

TRTRTRRANAANANCECECEDRDRDRUMUMUMMHIHIIITSTSTSTTSSS&&&&&&212121112155555MBMBMBMMBMBMBOOOFOFLOLOLOOPOPOPMAMAASTSTSSTS ERERERSSSSASAAMPMPLELEL SS

If yourDVD ismissingpleasecontactyournewsagent



Your Disc MT


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www.solidstatelogic.com

SSL SIG ARemote Controlled Analogue Summing.

Because nothing inside your DAW is analogue.• SSL SuperAnalogue™ summing unit controlled by DAWmix automation

• Studio monitor controller with front panel & MIDI remote control

• Separate iPad friendly remote control software

Clever, cool, effective and affordable hybrid studio technologyby Solid State Logic. The world’s leading pro audio innovator.

Audio Innovation. This is SSL.Distributed in the UK and Eire by Sound Technology Ltd

01462 480000 | www.soundtech.co.uk | [email protected] E C H N O LO G Y


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music tech magazine 2014-06

Documents

athm40x models

great gear

series headphones

studio items

gear romclassic amps

gb dvd135

wasmany years

anelectronics course